Author Archives: Ben Serridge

5 ways to watch more for less with Google TV

There’s more streaming entertainment than ever — and if you want to watch it all, the cost of subscriptions can add up quickly. In fact, our research showed that 67% of TV streamers are concerned about how much they’ll pay for streaming in the future.

With Google TV, you don’t have to limit your watchlist — or break the bank. Just in time for the holidays, here are a few ways you can watch more, for less, with Google TV in the U.S.

TV showing the Google TV Live Tab with integrated Pluto TV linear channels

Free Live TV channels from Pluto TV now in the Google TV Live tab


  1. Watch free live, linear streaming TV channels on the Live tab. Starting today, we’re partnering with Pluto TV so you can access more than 300 free live TV channels on Google TV. Visit the Live tab to see what’s on now or check out the Free Live TV recommendations in the For You tab. This new integration with Pluto TV will be available on all Google TV devices in the coming weeks.
  2. Check out movies on YouTube. Access thousands of feature-length movies for free with ads from the Movies & Shows tab in the YouTube app. Don’t miss holiday favorites like “Jingle All The Way,” “Serendipity” and “Bridget Jones’s Diary.”
  3. Try out more free Google TV apps. Head on over to the Apps tab to find a row of “Free movies & TV” apps to download, including Tubi, Xumo and Red Bull TV.
  4. Enjoy six months of Peacock Premium, at no extra cost. For a limited time, when you activate a new Google TV (or other Android TV OS device) in the U.S., you can get Peacock Premium at no extra cost. (After that, it’s $4.99 a month plus tax, but you can cancel at any time — check out all the details for more information.) You'll get everything Peacock has to offer — hit movies and shows, exclusive originals, WWE, live sports and more. Visit the For You or Apps tab after you set up your device to redeem the offer.
  5. Redeem Google Play Points for movies, shows, apps and more. If the movie or TV show you’re looking for isn't available from your services or free providers, you can rent or buy over 200,000 movies and TV episodes directly from Google TV, starting at $2.99. Whether it’s a new release or an old favorite, just search for it with your voice and click “Rent.” And with the Play Points loyalty program, you can earn points for every dollar you spend and redeem them for free Play Credits, which you can use to buy more movies, shows, books, apps and games.

And in 2022, we’ll be bringing you more ways to watch for free. In the meantime, kick back with free live TV, premium shows from Peacock and on demand movies on your Chromecast with Google TV and TVs from Sony andTCL.

Google Play helps you find what to watch and where to watch it

There’s no shortage of entertainment to enjoy online. With so many different streaming apps out there, it’s not only challenging to figure out what to watch, but where and how to watch it. Google Play wants to change that. Now you can browse the latest new release movies, see which streaming app is playing your favorite show, or find something entirely new to watch with the Google Play Movies & TV app.

Check out what’s new:

  • Find the right streaming service: In both the Google Play Movies & TV app and in the Play Store, you can easily discover if your favorite show or movie is available on a streaming service. For example, just search for “This is Us” and you’ll see that the latest season is for sale on Play Movies & TV, but also that it’s available to stream on the NBC app (with a cable subscription) or on Hulu. To start, we’ll have support for more than two dozen streaming and TV everywhere apps, including ABC, CBS, FOX NOW, NBC, Hulu, HBO NOW, HBO Go, Showtime, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Now, HGTV, BET Now, Comedy Central and many more. We’ll continue to add more partners over time. Once you’ve found what you want to watch, it’s just one tap and we’ll send you right to the app that lets you stream it. From there, you can also cast to your TV.
  • Find something new to watch: Instead of scrolling endlessly to find a movie on a Friday night, now you can narrow down your search with just a few taps. Explore more than tens of thousands of shows and movies on Google Play by genre to quickly find comedy TV shows, an award winning drama, family movies and more to watch for free, rent or buy.
GooglePlay_Demo_blog.gif
  • Tell us what you like, and what you don’t:Now in Play Movies & TV, we’ll show you TV shows and films based on what you watch and what you like—just use thumbs up/thumbs down to rate stuff you’ve already seen.
  • New watchlist tab:We’ve made it even easier to save shows and movies to watch later. All you have to do is long press on any show or movie and add it to your watchlist. In the watchlist tab, we’ll show you when it becomes available to buy or rent on Play, if the price has recently dropped, or if it is now available to stream.

Google Play helps you find what to watch and where to watch it

There’s no shortage of entertainment to enjoy online. With so many different streaming apps out there, it’s not only challenging to figure out what to watch, but where and how to watch it. Google Play wants to change that. Now you can browse the latest new release movies, see which streaming app is playing your favorite show, or find something entirely new to watch with the Google Play Movies & TV app.

Check out what’s new:

  • Find the right streaming service: In both the Google Play Movies & TV app and in the Play Store, you can easily discover if your favorite show or movie is available on a streaming service. For example, just search for “This is Us” and you’ll see that the latest season is for sale on Play Movies & TV, but also that it’s available to stream on the NBC app (with a cable subscription) or on Hulu. To start, we’ll have support for more than two dozen streaming and TV everywhere apps, including ABC, CBS, FOX NOW, NBC, Hulu, HBO NOW, HBO Go, Showtime, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Now, HGTV, BET Now, Comedy Central and many more. We’ll continue to add more partners over time. Once you’ve found what you want to watch, it’s just one tap and we’ll send you right to the app that lets you stream it. From there, you can also cast to your TV.
  • Find something new to watch: Instead of scrolling endlessly to find a movie on a Friday night, now you can narrow down your search with just a few taps. Explore more than tens of thousands of shows and movies on Google Play by genre to quickly find comedy TV shows, an award winning drama, family movies and more to watch for free, rent or buy.
GooglePlay_Demo_blog.gif
  • Tell us what you like, and what you don’t:Now in Play Movies & TV, we’ll show you TV shows and films based on what you watch and what you like—just use thumbs up/thumbs down to rate stuff you’ve already seen.
  • New watchlist tab:We’ve made it even easier to save shows and movies to watch later. All you have to do is long press on any show or movie and add it to your watchlist. In the watchlist tab, we’ll show you when it becomes available to buy or rent on Play, if the price has recently dropped, or if it is now available to stream.

Google Play and Movies Anywhere bring your movies together

Whether you're looking for a Halloween classic or the latest action thriller, we want you to access that movie, no matter what platform or device you're using. You can already find the Google Play Movies & TV app on Android devices, on Apple’s App Store, Roku’s Channel Store, and many top Smart TVs by Samsung, LG and Vizio, not to mention Chromecast and Android TV. And with Family Library, everyone in the family can share purchased movies at no additional fee, even if they’re using a different device.

Today, we’re taking it one step further by adding support for Movies Anywhere, allowing you to bring together your movies from Google Play, Amazon, iTunes and Vudu into a single library that you can access on any of your devices, regardless of where the purchase was originally made. Available first in the US, just connect your accounts using the new Movies Anywhere app or on the Movies Anywhere website, and all the movies you’ve purchased from Disney, Fox, Sony Pictures, Universal and Warner Bros. will be available for you to watch on Google Play.

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Even better, when you link two or more accounts through Movies Anywhere, you’ll get these blockbuster movies for free:

Done linking your accounts? Now all your movies are together in one place—enjoy the show.

Even more ways to watch your favorite movies & TV shows on Google Play

When we first made movies available on Android (a little over five years ago), they were only available on Android devices in the U.S., and you could only rent movies from three major studios. Today, Google Play Movies & TV is the most broadly available digital seller of movies & TV shows, with movies now available in 117 countries. And whether you’re watching on your laptop, at home on your TV, or on the go on a phone or tablet, we’ve got you covered. We’ve also added support for watching on iOS devices, via Chromecast on just about any TV, on your Roku streaming box, and on select Smart TVs.

More Ways to Watch Google Play Movies

Recently we’ve added even more ways to watch:

  • 4K Ultra HD - Starting today, Google Play Movies now offers more than 125 movies in 4K resolution, using VP9, so that you can enjoy them in the highest quality. Starting in the U.S. and Canada, you can purchase 4K movies on your Android device or on the web and stream them on your Chromecast Ultra, your Sony Bravia Android TV, or your Xiaomi Mi Box 3. And for anyone who buys a new Chromecast Ultra, your first 4K movie is on us! Choose from select titles, including Ghostbusters and Captain Phillips.*
  • Google Play Movies & TV on VR - In October, we launched Google Play Movies & TV together with the Daydream VR platform, so you can now watch all the movies and TV shows in your Google Play library in a virtual cinema, even if you're offline. Still building your library? Take a virtual tour of our selection of new release movies, next day TV shows, and more than 10,000 catalog titles; or buy on your phone to watch later using your Daydream VR headset.
  • 2016 Samsung TVs - The Google Play Movies & TV app is now available on 2016 model Samsung Smart TVs, which means that movies and TV shows already in your library are immediately available to watch directly on your new Samsung Smart TV. Or use your Samsung TV remote to browse our selection of new release movies and next-day TV shows and start watching something new right away.

With Google Play’s vast catalog of new releases and next day TV shows, you can explore the final frontier of space in Star Trek Beyond, fight zombies in The Walking Dead, or travel back in time to another age in Downton Abbey. And now with 4K streaming and VR viewing, you have even more ways to bring movies to life in ways you’ve never before experienced.

*For a limited time. Terms and conditions apply.