Google TV is launching a new TV experience with more than 800 free live TV channels across multiple providers as part of the smart TV operating system for Chromecast devices and various TVs. Included are news channels from NBC, CBS, ABC and FOX, along with stations featuring popular shows like “The Walking Dead,” “Westworld” and “Law & Order: SVU.” New streaming channels Tubi, Plex and Haystack News will be integrated and showcased in a redesigned Live tab programming guide. The new content will be positioned alongside Google TV’s existing channel lineup from free streamer Pluto TV.

Google says the expansion makes Google TV the largest free-TV platform packaged with a single electronic programming guide, and the good news for consumers is they can choose and “watch without even downloading or launching an app.”

In addition to Chromecast devices, TVs from Sony, TCL, Hisense and Philips will include the new Google TV lineup, which will also be made available on “eligible” Android TV devices later this year, Google says in a blog post.

“Favorites” can be saved to the top of your guide for quick access, and those with a premium live TV subscription from YouTube TV or Sling TV, or access to over-the-air channels, can populate those in the guide too, so “all your live channels can be found in one place.”

The 800 new channels are considered free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST). Unlike paid subscription streaming platforms like Netflix and Apple TV+, “FAST channels offer a more traditional cable TV-like experience where content is streaming live when you tune in, which may appeal to new cord cutters,” writes TechCrunch. Many FAST channel providers “don’t require accounts to begin watching, which makes it easy to get started.”

Smart TV platform manufacturers including Roku and Amazon Fire TV have already been aggregating FAST channels into free streaming hubs they tout as selling points for their hardware. “The Roku Channel, hosts over 300 free live TV channels, in addition to its 80,000+ free movies and TV shows,” TechCrunch notes, citing it as “the most popular ad-supported streaming service, with a 21.5 percent market share among consumers” according to a 2022 TiVo survey.

Amazon Fire TV has integrated Freevee as its FAST hub, offering a mix of ad-supported streamers and live TV feeds. Pluto TV, Crackle, Plex, Xumo and Xperi are among the digital-first FAST platforms that offer a mix of live and on-demand streaming.

In January, YouTube began testing the waters with its own FAST channel hub and TechCrunch notes “even Netflix said it was open to considering the option.” A 2022 TiVo survey ranked Roku’s hub as the most popular FAST service, with a consumer market share of 21.5 percent.