VIZIO’s WatchFree+ Adds FOX Weather Channel; SmartCast TVs Now Carry FOX Sports App
Amidst hurricane and football seasons in the U.S., smart TV manufacturer VIZIO is making sure that its customers are getting up-to-the-minute coverage of both. On Thursday, the company announced that it is adding support for the FOX Sports app on VIZIO SmartCast TVs. VIZIO also announced that it has added the FOX Weather channel to its free ad-supported TV service VIZIO WatchFree+.
FOX Weather joins other FOX platforms LiveNOW, Tubi, and FOX Soul on WatchFree+. FOX Weather is a 24 hours per day free ad-supported TV (FAST) channel that offers users an innovative approach to forecasting with a combined 120 meteorologists as well as live programming featuring a fully equipped, technologically modern suite of weather products.
“We are pleased to extend and expand our long-standing relationship with VIZIO as we bring FOX Weather and the FOX Sports app to VIZIO users and provide them with greater access to our industry-leading portfolio of news, sports and entertainment,” Fox Corporation EVP BJ Elias said.
WatchFree+ is coming along nicely for VIZIO, which has expanded the offerings on the platform to over 5,000 titles this year. VIZIO also recently updated its search function, and added a “My Watchlist” feature to give customers even more control over their watching experience.
FOX Weather has also been expanding its reach of late, being added to Fios TV, Amazon's free streaming service now known as Freevee, and YouTube TV this year.
“FOX and VIZIO have been working together for several years to bring audiences the best in entertainment,” VIZIO group VP Katherine Pond said. “We are very pleased that our strategic relationship continues to grow, and our expanded agreement means VIZIO users can enjoy a wide range of sports, live events, news and lifestyle programming for years to come.”
SmartCast TVs from VIZIO also now offer the FOX Sports app. To commemorate the rollout of FOX Sports on SmartCast TVs, VIZIO’s Home Screen will feature a “sports blitz” dedicated menu featuring live college football and NFL games throughout the weekend of Nov. 12-13. Billed as the perfect app for the modern sports fan, the FOX Sports app is the home for streaming live and on-demand sports from FOX, FS1, FS2, and FOX Deportes — all in one app.
Every live FOX Sports game and studio show is available to pay TV subscribers on the FOX Sports app via their TV Everywhere credentials. The app offers viewers content from NFL, MLB, NASCAR, college football, college basketball, FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Championships, CONCACAF Soccer, MLS, WWE, USFL, and Liga MX, as well as on-demand highlights of top moments from user-favorite sports and shows.
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.