How Telly Works with Advertisers to Offer Thousands of Free TV Sets; Will Your Data Be Safe?
It was an offer that seemed too good to be true, at first. Telly, the TV startup company founded by Pluto TV co-creator Ilya Pozin wanted to send out hundreds of thousands of free 55-inch 4K smart TVs, all in exchange for a few questions about user income levels and other details.
Telly’s TV giveaway was first announced this spring, and since then over 250,000 people have reportedly signed up to get one. Units began shipping in early July, and a new report from the Wall Street Journal is detailing exactly how Telly plans to work with advertisers to make sure things go as planned.
It starts with targeting ads to specific users. Telly TVs all feature a second screen at the bottom of the set, a dedicated space for showing ads at all times while the TV is in use. The company will work with advertisers using data customers gave during their initial questionnaires to tailor which ads are seen in which homes.
“If you’re a Toyota, and you want to show an ad only to people that own Hondas, we can do that,” Pozin told the WSJ. “And if you want to show [an ad] only during a football game, we can do that, and then only to this demo in this age group, etc.”
In other words, Telly will attempt to help advertisers use your data in more personalized ways than previously possible, but it won’t be doing anything remarkably different with the information you surrender to get your set than any other streamer or TV manufacturer has done.
The user agreement required to get a Telly TV specifies that users have to make it the main set in their home, among other provisions. If they don’t, they could be asked to return the TV or face a charge of $1,000 if they refuse. Telly sets will have a motion sensor installed to detect whether people are in the room when it’s in use, though it cannot “see” people individually. Telly sets also have a webcam installed, but the camera comes with a physical shutter that does not open unless the user chooses to open it. This is designed to allow users to co-watch shows and movies with friends and families around the world, and to be used for video meetings as well.
Telly wants its users to think of their TVs as a home entertainment hub. The second screen will always have an ad on it, but it won’t be exclusively reserved as a space for sponsorships; users will be able to see live weather updates, check sports scores, or even play video games on part of the second screen. Company officials have pledged that Telly sets will be updated frequently with new features to regularly improve the functionality of the sets.
The Telly experiment is a fascinating one. The company wants to help advertisers reach a segment of the population that doesn’t traditionally watch linear TV, which is why ad agencies have had a harder time getting to them. Advertising revenues are down across the board, and the codependent relationship between advertisers and TV providers has taken on a new form in Telly.