Vizio Adds Lifestyle, Fashion, Comedy Channels to SmartCast

By Jon Lafayette
( Broadcasting & Cable )
last updated

Streaming on free apps up 88%

(Image credit: Vizio)

Vizio said it is adding 10 new free channels featuring lifestyle, do it yourself, fashion, travel and comedy programming to the SmartCast TV platform on its connected TV sets.

Related: Vizio Adds 30 Streaming Channels to SmartCast

Vizio said that usage of its free streaming content was up 88% in the last week of April compared to the first week of March, before people were asked to stay at home to slow the spread of the Coronavirus. Attention to the free channels and apps were up 108% in April compared to the first week of March as viewers discover new content options, the company said.

The new channels feature:

Vizio added 30 new free channels in April. It also offers the WatchFree service with Pluto TV, featuring hundreds of streaming TV channels. 

One in  five new sets sold today are from Vizio, which has the second-highest market share in the U.S. for smart TVs. 

Jon Lafayette
Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.