Tech and entertainment companies continue to launch new products responding to consumers’ growing demand for easy, aggregated access to live and video-on-demand streaming offerings.

Google TV, the operating system that powers Chromecast and various smart TV devices, is integrating access to free, ad-supported channels (FASTs) including Tubi, Plex and Haystack News, into its Live tab.

Added to more than 300 existing Pluto TV channels already there, and new built-in channels that can be watched without downloading an app, Google TV now enables browsing and accessing more than 800 channels, without subscription fees. The selection includes NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox news channels. streaming 

Google TV also offers channels from around the world, with programming in more than 10 languages, including Spanish, Hindi and Japanese.

The system’s TV guide and Live tab aggregate and organize all available channels, plus users’ premium live TV subscriptions from YouTube TV and Sling TV and access to over-the-air (OTA) channels.

The Live tab, launched two years ago, has been redesigned to enable users to more quickly find programming on virtual MVPDs such as YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV and Philo, and allows for saving favorites at the top of the guide.

The new live TV experience will be available on all Google TV devices in the U.S., including Chromecast with Google TV and Sony, TCL, Hisense and Philips smart TVs with Google TV built in. Google said it plans to bring the new TV guide and free channels to eligible Android TV devices later this year.

Google’s moves speak to the growing competition to offer consumers one-stop streaming capabilities, along with the familiar, cable-like linear experience that FASTs offer new cord-cutters.

The Roku Channel, Roku’s rival free, ad-supported streaming hub, hosts more than 300 free, live channels, in addition to 80,000 free movies and TV shows, and has about a 21% FAST user share, based on a 2022 TiVo survey. Amazon’s Freevee also offers free live TV channels along with free VOD library access. Meanwhile, YouTube has begun testing its own FAST channel, and Netflix has indicated openness to the concept.