Summary
- Google TV has removed nine free ad-supported television (FAST) channels from its curated lineup. This comes after a year of significant expansion, including adding over 50 channels and revamping the Freeplay experience.
- Notable removals include The Bob Ross Channel, Comedy Dynamics, and Dog Whisperer with Cesar Milan.
- The reason for the removals is unclear, but speculation points to a potential licensing issue with Cinedigm, which operates a majority of the removed channels.
2024 was a great year for
Google TV
users that utilize the platform’s large range of free channels. Google TV’s FAST (Free Ad-Supported Television) channels were first introduced back in 2023, allowing users to stream over 800 channels, all without having to download, sign up, or subscribe to a separate application. Alongside the 800+ ad-supported channels, Google offers its own curated list of FAST channels, which were in their golden period last year.
After adding over 50 new channels to the platform in 2024, and revamping the experience to Google TV Freeplay, the tech giant now seems to be scaling back.
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For what it’s worth, the Freeplay experience has been paused, with Google reportedly making stability improvements to prevent it from crashing. It is currently unclear when the dedicated app will make a comeback.
Now, roughly three months in, Google has quietly removed nine channels from its curated FAST lineup, seven of which were added in one go back in September, as highlighted by 9to5Google.
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The removed channels include:
- The Bob Ross Channel
- Comedy Dynamics
- Dog Whisperer with Cesar Milan
- Dazn Ringside
- Dazn Women’s Football
- Dove Channel
- The Hill TV
- Shades of Black
- OutTV Proud
While Google hasn’t acknowledged axing the nine channels, 9to5Google speculates that the removal could be tied to a licensing deal gone bad. For reference, Cinedigm operates a majority of the removed channels, and could very well be the source of the recent removals. We doubt that the removal is tied to Google culling channels that don’t get much traffic, considering that The Bob Ross Channel is on the list.
It is currently unclear whether any of these channels will return in the future. The removal shrinks Google’s curated FAST catalog to an otherwise impressive 162 channels, with 15 of those added as recently as Christmas Eve.
