VIZIO Adds ‘My Watchlist’ Feature, Enhanced Recommendations to SmartCast TVs
TV manufacturer VIZIO is continuing to make strides as a content provider. The company has embraced the future of streaming, and has been working hard to add new features that improve its customer experience, such as user profiles and a payment hub to manage subscriptions.
VIZIO is now giving owners of its SmartCast TVs even more control over their TV watching. The company introduced the “My Watchlist” feature on its SmartCast TVs on Tuesday, which will allow viewers to add their favorite TV shows and movies from different streaming services into one central location.
Customers need simply search for a show title or actor name to use the Watchlist feature, or they can use the “+ Watchlist” button on the content detail page of each title. Once titles are added to the Watchlist, they will appear on a dedicated “My Watchlist” content row on a user’s home screen.
“The user is at the center of everything we do at VIZIO, and we recognize that our users want the ability to easily find the content that matters most to them,” VIZIO VP of product management Steve Yum said. “My Watchlist gives our users the ability to customize their SmartCast experience to their tastes and make it easier to do what they come to VIZIO to do: stream their favorite movies and shows.”
VIZIO is also rolling out a better way for customers to find shows similar to ones that they’ve already enjoyed with enhanced SmartCast recommendations. VIZIO users will see recommended titles for the streaming services they access most — helping audiences get the most out of their premium subscriptions. For example, if a user watches Netflix frequently, they may see a Netflix row and a list of series and movie recommendations for that service.
The SmartCast home screen will also get a row dedicated to the genres of content that viewers gravitate toward the most. For instance, if “Romance” is the user’s favorite category, they may see a row titled “Love Stories” full of specially curated romance content.
These new features will make it easier to access content especially suited to individual users. It will help streaming customers everywhere, including those who use VIZIO’s free ad-supported TV (FAST) service VIZIO WatchFree+. Watchfree+ expanded to over 5,000 titles earlier this year, and the “My Watchlist” feature will help customers access their favorites amongst titles faster than ever before.
VIZIO WatchFree+
WatchFree+ is VIZIO’s free streaming service, available on its SmartCast TVs. There are 260+ free channels and 6,000 titles on demand, providing immediate access to live and local programming and a wide library ranging from thousands of movies, news, sports, music, kids & family, multicultural, and more. Top channels include CNN, FOX Sports, Hallmark, ION Plus, LEGO Channel, MLB, NBC News Now, and Stories by AMC.