DistroTV, an independent, free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) provider, has made its way to Vizio smart TVs, the company announced today.
Touting multicultural content across a variety of genres, DistroTV offers originals and channels that cater to English, Southeast Asian, Indian and Spanish speakers – including a bundle targeted to the African community.
The provider in June bumped up its FAST channel count to over 270. FAST channels available on DistroTV include food focused GustoTV, documentary channels like Beautiful Planet and True History as well as CineLife, which is geared toward independent films.
“We are thrilled to join the Vizio family, particularly at a time when we are continuing to grow our viewership and channel content at a rapid pace,” stated Navdeep Saini, co-founder and CEO of DistroTV parent company DistroScale.
“By expanding our distribution via Vizio smart TVs, we can continue to provide audiences with the content they crave, and all while maintaining our FAST no-sign up, credit card, or email required model,” he continued.
DistroTV’s distribution is spread across 60 markets and is available on other smart TV platforms like Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV as well as through desktop and mobile apps.
Consumers are seeing the value of ad-supported content. Hub Entertainment Research recently found over half of consumers use at least one FAST service. And about four in 10 consumers subscribe to a lower-cost tier of a subscription-based streaming service.
FAST providers that don’t require user registration, like DistroTV, also have an advantage in the streaming market. Katie Long, head of demand at Beachfront, said at last week’s StreamTV Advertising Summit ease of access is a key driver for FAST adoption.
DistroTV has doubled down on its international expansion and content offering. Earlier this year, Saini told Fierce Video that despite being in competition with major FAST providers like Roku and Pluto TV, DistroTV’s position as an independent FAST service enables the company to reach out to more diverse audiences.
DistroTV can further boost its viewership with Vizio. The TV maker recently noted 16.1 million of its users were actively engaged with Vizio’s SmartCast streaming platform in the second quarter.