The explosive growth of smart TV proliferation globally has arrived hand-in-hand with consumer adoption of video streaming, but that growth is slowing. 

According to data provided by TrendForce, global smart TV shipments are projected to decline for a fifth consecutive year, dropping below 200 million units for the first time in a decade. 

TrendForce estimates that shipments will tally at less than 197 million TVs in 2023, a 2.1% decline from the research company's 2022 tally (which was off nearly 4% from 2021). 

"Consumer budgets are still constrained due to the current high-interest-rate environment, and the real estate bubble in China has suppressed TV demand," TrendForce said in its recent report. "Moreover, a significant increase in TV panel prices this year has led brands to scale down promotional events." 

Notably, the report also includes interesting market share statistics, revealing that the long-gestating moment at which Chinese upstarts Hisense and TCL run down Korean incumbents Samsung and LG is at hand.

"Both Chinese brands have successfully raised their shipment volumes and market shares through low-cost export market strategies and localized production," TrendForce said. "Conversely, LG Electronics faced a downturn in OLED TV sales, with a nearly 30% YoY decline, leading to a 7.4% decrease in overall shipments to 22.91 million units."

Samsung, which has led in smart TV market share for the last 17 years, has seen its annual shipments decline nearly 15% from five years ago. Meanwhile, Hisense and TCL have nearly doubled their global shipments over that span. 

Of course, market share trends directly affect the important global gateway OS market, the closely associated battle between platform giants Samsung, Roku, Google and Amazon, among many other software suppliers. 

The already crowded smart TV OS wars just got a little more heated with the quiet introduction on U.S. retail shelves of low-priced models made by Hisense and powered by the Chinese manufacturer’s Linux-based operating system, VIDAA. 

Perusing the virtual shelves of Walmart, Best Buy and Costco, we found plenty of budget-minded sets in the 32-, 40- and 43-inch sizes, all lacking premium features like 4K capability but all priced at well under $200. 

In fact, we couldn't find anything cheaper than this 32-inch, VIDAA-powered Toshiba set at BestBuy.com. (Hisense now has a license to manufacture TVs under the Japanese “Toshiba” brand name.)

Founded in 2019 by Qingdao, China-headquartered Hisense Group and other investors, Atlanta-based VIDAA makes what Hisense now calls “its preferred smart TV OS,” even though the company continues to sell TVs powered by Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Google TV. 

In an announcement made in early January, VIDAA said it was coming to the U.S., having already “started in Europe and then to the Middle East, Australia and APAC, and, most recently, in Latin America.” 

VIDAA, which supports most major SVOD and FAST apps, even called out Roku by name in a February press release touting its own native free ad-supported streaming component. 

Indeed, an increased presence from VIDAA in Hisense’s smart TV product lines could have a major impact on Roku, Amazon and Google, which have proliferated their operating software mainly through OEM partnerships with makers like Hisense. And it could make it more challenging for TVOS newcomers, including Comcast-Charter JV Xumo TV and Xperi/TiVo, to gain a foothold in North America. 

Hisense is the world’s second-biggest shipper of smart TVs, according to research company Omdia.

With Samsung, LG and Vizio making their own OS software, Hisense and TCL, another Chinese manufacturer, have been the biggest sales drivers of third-party TVOS platforms like Roku. 

However, with even TCL developing its own FAST, and Roku and Amazon now manufacturing their own smart TVs, the global TV market seems to be moving to a “BYOS” (bring your own software) paradigm. 

Hisense Group shipped more than 24.5 million TV sets in 2022, according to research company Omdia, vaulting the Qingdao, China-headquartered electronics maker to No. 2 in global smart TV volume rankings, ahead of TCL and LG, but trailing Samsung. 

(Hisense hyped this turn of events in a press release last week that we only stumbled onto Tuesday.)

Hisense's rapid volume gains come as the company has also announced a push for its own Linux-based TV operating system software, VIDAA, which currently only powers a small fraction of the world's smart TV's. 

In January at CES, Hisense's Atlanta-based VIDAA USA unit announced that it was "taking aim at the U.S. market," which is largely controlled, TVOS-wise, by Roku. 

Then, in early February, it said it was "taking aim at Roku" with a new FAST component for VIDAA. 

Hisense's portfolio includes TV's powered by Roku OS, as well as Google TV/Android TV, Amazon Fire TV and Comcast/Charter's Xumo TV (formerly XClass TV). 

It would certainly shake up the global horse race for TVOS supremacy if Hisense were to continue growing its global smart TV marketshare while sustaining focus on VIDAA.

For promotional heft, we suggest Hisense and VIDAA enlist the exquisite spokesmanship of none other than Jesse "The Body" Ventura (circa 1984), who was pretty, pretty good at calling out "champions" like Roku back in his day. 

The currently heated global competition for living-room connected TV gateway supremacy feels just a bit like pro wrestling these days, with the incumbents being called out by name in press releases by newcomers you've seldom heard of. 

Well, at least that's how it felt to us this morning when we received an announcement in our inbox headlined, "VIDAA Free Offering Takes Aim at Roku." 

In case you don't know, Atlanta-based VIDAA USA was founded in 2019 by Qingdao, China-headquartered Hisense Group and makes a Linux-based streaming operating system software that its parent company, and other smart TV brands including Toshiba, use in an undisclosed percentage of smart TVs sold worldwide. 

As of 2020, Hisense said VIDAA had 20 million users across "Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East."

VIDAA said in its release Tuesday that it now delivers every major U.S. SVOD service and arbitrates 1 billion hours of streaming each month worldwide. 

In January at CES, VIDAA announced it was making a push into a U.S. CTV market controlled by Roku. 

And on Tuesday, the software unit announced a new FAST service, VIDAA Play, that will add a free ad-supported streaming component to VIDAA's broader TVOS game. this is, of course, table stakes in a U.S. market in which Roku has the powerful Roku Channel, and Amazon operates Freevee. 

VIDAA didn't say anything about what type of content and channels will be included in the service. (We assume it's the usual assemblage of Tastemade, Pet Collective and other ubiquitous FAST fare.)

VIDAA did announce last spring that it had partnered with SeaChange International to use Xstream advanced advertising tech that will power VIDAA Play. 

"We're excited to bring VIDAA Free to millions of connected TVs worldwide and are proud to launch it on Hisense smart TVs, the world's leading manufacturer in terms of units shipped," said Yaniv Gruenwald, COO of VIDAA USA, in a statement.

"This marks a new era of video streaming experience on Connected TVs. With the platform jointly developed with SeaChange, VIDAA has full control and can seamlessly manage, curate, publish, and monetize video content," Gruenwald added.

In simultaneously declaring that Hisense has surpassed Korea's Samsung as the No. 1 shipper of smart TV's worldwide, VIDAA doesn't necessarily speak to the issue of Hisense's overall commitment to its own OS. 

In the U.S., for example, Hisense TV's are mostly sold with Google TV, Amazon Fire TV ... and Roku as the TVOS. Comcast's recently rebranded Xumo TV sets (formerly XClass TV) are also made by Hisense. 

Is Hisense going to suddenly subdue these third-party software relationships and focus on VIDAA? 

If that's the case, VIDAA's TVOS competitors can run, but they can't hide. 

Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment said it made a deal with VIDAA USA to add a Crackle button to remote controls sold with Hisense smart TVs.

VIDAA USA, which manages the platform for Hisense, also agreed to add Chicken Soup for the Soul's free ad-supported streaming TV channels to the VIDAA platform in the coming weeks.

The deal provides more distribution for the Crackle Plus channels, and makes them easier for consumers to find the programming they offer.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Also: Chicken Soup for the Soul Launches Video On Demand App on Vizio Sets

"Providing the best free content in the simplest way to consumers is our mission at VIDAA. Which is why the partnership with Crackle is a great addition to our already large lineup of free VOD content as well as FAST channels," VIDAA USA VP of content Nick Ruczaj said. "We've also made the content easy to discover in our platform’s search engine and will be placing the streaming channels right alongside the broadcast TV networks in the programming guide," he added.

Also: Tremor International Makes $25 Million Investment in Hisense’s VIDAA

The VIDAA Smart TV OS is a Linux-based smart TV operating system and is embedded in millions of smart TV brands including Hisense, Toshiba, Loewe and Supersonic.

"Hisense is known for its high-quality televisions, which are affordable to cost-conscious consumers," Adam Mosam, chief digital officer of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, said. "The addition of the Crackle app on the VIDAA TV operating system and the remote button will help bring a whole new audience to our service. We have a wide range of amazing content which I know their consumers will enjoy." ■

Ad tech company Tremor International is investing $25 million in VIDAA, the smart TV operating system subsidiary of Chinese set maker Hisense Co.

Tremor International said its goal is to grow VIDAA, making it a bigger player in both the competitive TV OS category and the growing CTV marketplace.

The deal will make Tremor International’s Unruly the exclusive supply side platform for VIDAA in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia. VIDAA will also use Tremor International’s Spearad ad server.

Hisense is extending Tremor International's exclusive deal to share VIDAA’s automatic content recognition viewing data for global measurement and targeting.

“Our strategic partnership and mutual vision with VIDAA is rare in the ad tech marketplace, and we believe it provides Tremor with cutting-edge capabilities in the CTV ecosystem,” said Ofer Druker, CEO of Tremor International.

The two companies have worked together since October 2021.

"VIDAA’s assets enable us to better assist advertisers in reaching desired audiences and measuring the success of their campaigns through ACR data, now coupled with exclusive monetization of VIDAA’s premium content library and massive media platform in the US and globally," said Druker. "We are very proud of the strength and depth of our relationship, and of the trust they have placed in our platform and team as part of the foundation of their global growth."

The VIDAA operating system comes pre-installed on set manufactured by Hisense, including TV under the Toshiba brand. Hisense and other manufacturers expert to distribute 70 million smart TVs globally over the next five years.

"To execute our vision to create and promote VIDAA, a leading smart TV operating system and streaming platform in the growing connected TV ecosystem, we needed a complementary partner who will enable monetization, while providing added value to VIDAA’s OEM partners," said Hisense chair Lan Lin. "After reviewing the options in the market, we chose to build a partnership with Tremor International as we strongly believe that its technology stack and global reach can offer the best solution to enable our vision and support our expansion."

“In Tremor International, we have a team stacked with CTV experts and a global solution that empowers us to get the most out of our strategy,” added Guy Edri, president of VIDAA. “Now we are looking to the future of our business and believe that Tremor International, and its subsidiaries – the Unruly SSP and Spearad ad server – can provide the strength and versatility we need for our evolution as a leading CTV operating system and streaming platform in the era of the connected TV.”

The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2022, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Tremor intends to fund the investment utilizing existing cash resources. ■

Tremor International said it made a deal giving it exclusive access to automatic content recognition (ACR) data from smart TV sets using the VIDAA operating system.

VIDAA is installed on most Hisense TVs and integrated with sets from other manufacturers including Toshiba. There are about 20 million VIDAA smart TVs worldwide now. 

The agreement makes Tremor International the only open end-to-end platform with direct access to global original equipment manufacturer ACR data for targeting ads. The data will be available as part of Tremor’s intelligence product in May 2022 through Tremor Video and Unruly.

In addition to targeting, Tremor Video and Unruly will offer proprietary measurement capabilities. 

Also: Disney Plus Gets Support on Hisense and Toshiba Smart TVs Powered by VIDAA OS

“This is an important milestone in Tremor International’s trajectory as a leader in CTV and video, and underscores an important pillar in our strategy. The partnership with VIDAA bolsters the availability of highly desirable data sets that will live exclusively within the Tremor International end-to-end platform, opening new advertising horizons for customers across the globe and accelerating Tremor’s growth around CTV,” Tremor International CEO Ofer Druker said.

In May, VIDAA launched U5, the most advanced version of its streaming platform. 

“The idea behind VIDAA was to put the customer at the center of the CTV experience. Our mission is to bring the finest content, both global and local, to our customers, who are today overwhelmed by an endless array of options and choices in viewing services. Creating one easy place for user management ensures they have a direct way to view the content they enjoy and aligning ads with their needs and preferences is an important part of that,” said Guy Edri, executive VP of VIDAA. “Teaming up with Tremor International, with impressive capabilities on both the commercial and CTV technology sides of its business, will enable an even better experience for our customers, as we are committed to bringing best-in-class content to consumers all over the globe."

Disney Plus is now supported by VIDAA, an operating system that powers a purported 20 million Hisense and Toshiba smart TVs globally, with heavy concentrations in territories like Australia and Africa.

The added device accessibility will aid Disney's ongoing expansion plans for its subscription streaming services, with the company planning to enter South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan next month. 

As for VIDAA, the Linux-based, Google Assistant-integrated operating system was first developed by Hisense in 2014. In 2019, Hisense spun the software into its own company, VIDAA USA. 

The most recent iteration of the OS was introduced in May.

Hisense sells smart TV's powered by Roku. And very recently--this morning, in fact--Comcast announced a new line of smart TVs made by Hisense and interfaced by a new OS based on the cable operator's X1 video platform. 

As of last year, Hisense said VIDAA had 20 million users across "Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East."

"Our cooperation with The Walt Disney Company is a major milestone for our organisation, "said Guy Edri, executive VP of VIDAA USA. "Bringing Disney Plus to the VIDAA platform globally is just the first step. We're looking forward to working with Disney on ways to expand our collaboration and opportunities to bring their full suite of streaming services to our customers in the future. Today marks not only the launch of an amazing service on a state-of-the-art platform, but a start of a long-term relationship between two companies, each a leader in its industry."

Comcast is moving forward with its plan to sell smart TVs powered by its Xfinity Flex operating system. 

Comcast will brand two 4K models, one 43 inches diagonal the other 50 inches, of what it's branding as "XClass TV," with China OEM Hisense serving as its manufacturing partner.

Also Read: Comcast's Plan to Sell Xfinity Flex-powered Smart TVs at Walmart: What We Know Today

Comcast has yet to officially announce this, and the cable operator has yet to respond to Next TV's inquiries for comment and confirmation. 

The details come from a Comcast staging server, first discovered by Protocol, which appears to have been inadvertently left open to the public. 

"XClass TV is a smart TV that brings all your favorite apps, live channels, and On Demand movies and shows together in one place," reads an FAQ on the site. "XClass TV works gives [sic] you thousands of free movies, shows, music, and more. And to find what you love faster, XClass TV comes with a voice remote that lets you control your TV and search across apps with just your voice."

According to the site, XClass TV purchasers will get a year free of Comcast/NBCUniversal's $4.99-a-month Peacock Premium service, as well as native access to free AVOD platforms including Tubi and Pluto TV. 

As for subscription apps, XClass TV's OS seems to support any SVOD app that Flex does, with an FAQ specifically calling out support for Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu and Disney Plus. 

Xfinity Flex is based on Comcast's flagship pay TV operating system, X1, and is deployed in thin-client streaming boxes that Comcast hands out at no additional charge to its growing ranks of broadband-only customers. 

Comcast has openly stated its ambition to transition Flex from a proprietary platform existing within its cable footprint to software UX that competes with Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Google TV/Android TV, Samsung Tizen, LG webOS and other platforms that power smart TVs.

Comcast beta tested Peacock in the second quarter of 2020 exclusively on X1 and Xfinity Flex, and company executives saw firsthand the benefits--in terms of both data collection and advanced advertising--of controlling the OS on which its platform runs. 

Last year, the Wall Street Journal reported that Comcast was in discussions with Walmart about selling Flex-powered smart TVs. The newly discovered XClass TV portal, however, doesn't refer to the retail giant. 

Increasingly, consumers are using the native OS that comes with their smart TVs, forsaking streaming hockey pucks, dongles and HDMI sticks. 

Last week, OTT-focused research company TV[REV] published a report predicting the collective ad revenue for the top three smart TV sellers alone--Samsung, LG and Vizio--will grow from $1.37 billion in 2021 to $6.17 billion in 2026. 

Meanwhile, in an investor note published last week, Bernstein media analyst Peter Supino said Comcast is probably too late to the smart TV OS game to catch up to the likes of Roku, Amazon, Google and Samsung. But the cable giant, which currently has around 1.9 million Flex users in footprint, could have as many as 5.6 million by 2025.

Comcast is working with Walmart and Chinese consumer electronics maker Hisense on a plan to distribute smart TVs powered by the cable operator's own OS. 

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, which adds a little meat to the previously reported initiative, these TVs could be available later this year. An earlier report suggested these TVs would be sold at Walmart stores under the big-box chain's "onn." brand. 

The project, internally known at Comcast's Philadelphia headquarters as "PlatCo," would enable the cable giant to feature its Peacock streaming service as a flagship property, much the way Amazon Prime Video is pole-positioned on Amazon Fire TV devices.

The cable operator would expand out of "footprint" for the first time, competing in the retail-driven connected TV device business with perhaps the most potent of all retailers, Walmart. 

"We're early days, but we're looking at smart TVs on a global basis, and we're wondering — can we bring our same tech stack for certain capabilities in aggregation to consumers who are relying more and more on smart TVs?," Comcast chief executive Brian Roberts told investors late last year. 

Before Peacock launched nationally, across connected TV device platforms and out of Comcast's footprint in July of 2020, the company tested the platform on its own subscribers, those who have Xfinity X1 and Flex devices in their homes. 

Comcast and its NBCUniversal division were reportedly thrilled with the advanced advertising results that came from being able to capture all data in a proprietary device ecosystem. 

Comcast hands out Flex devices for free to its broadband-only customers. These devices are powered by Xfinity Stream OS software. It's believed that Comcast is trying to proliferate this technology configuration, or some semblance of it, through the PlatCo partnership. 

Catching the likes of Roku, which touts nearly 54 million active users for its connected TV devices globally, won't be easy for Comcast and its PlatCo partners. 

That's one of the reasons why, according to WSJ, Comcast is considering the purchase of Roku.

For its part, Walmart is already competing with Roku and Amazon in the connected TV device business. Earlier this month, the chain debuted two new low-priced onn.-branded streaming devices powered by Google's Android TV OS.

Music video service Vevo will be playing to a bigger audience following a deal that puts its app on Hisense and Toshiba smart TV sets.

Vevo reached a distribution agreement with VIDAA, a smart TV operating system installed on Hisense TVs and Toshiba Smart TV’s made by Hisense.

“Hisense and Toshiba are loved and trusted global brands that push the boundaries of innovation with advanced products that will ensure the best music video viewing experience for fans around the world – where, how and when they want it,” said Rob Christensen, VP of advanced TV sales and distribution department at Vevo. “With VIDAA, we are carrying on our mission to elevate the music video and help fans enjoy this art form by creating even more ways to easily access our vast library.”

Through the Vevo app, viewers have access to hundreds of thousands of music videos, including official releases and live performances. Vevo also offers originally produced content. Vevo sells ads against its music videos to markets looking to reach CTV viewers.

“VIDAA is excited to team up with one of the biggest music video networks in the world. Music is one of four VIDAA pillars. As the expert programmer of music videos, Vevo understands the value of both exceptional content and experiences – just as we do – making them a natural partner for VIDAA as we integrate music videos into our entertainment offerings,” said Guy Edri, executive VP, VIDAA.

The VIDAA operating system gives consumers smart TV features as well as linear and stream content options from more than 300 apps.

Roku has grown into a powerful gatekeeper in the global video streaming business largely thanks to its prolific integration into low-priced smart TVs from Chinese brands sold in the last few years. 

Since 2017, Chinese manufacturers including TCL and Hisense have captured significant portions of smart TV market share in regions including North America, undercutting more expensive Korean brands such as Samsung and LG with low-priced sets costing less than $300. The majority of these TV sets have been powered by the Roku operating system. 

According to recent Strategy Analytics data, Amazon has actually been moving around more Fire TV players, speakers, dongles and sticks than Roku does, shipping a world-leading 13.2 million units in the fourth quarter alone. Roku only shipped 6.3 million of these gadgets in Q4. But TCL and Hisense combined to ship 11.3 million OTT devices in the quarter, most of them smart TVs powered by Roku. 

Also Read: Spectrum TV App Blackout on Roku: What's Happening and Why?

This proliferation has rendered Roku the platform most often used to consume streaming video in North America. And it’s a major reason why Roku is able to tout an industry-leading 51.2 million active users around the globe. 

But with so many consumers experiencing video streaming for the first time—and along with that, the Roku OS—through cheap TVs, a problem could be emerging: cheap TVs have a lot of bugs. 

“The TV is fine, but the Roku interface system is slow and gets stuck often,” reads one verified Amazon product review from December for a 50-inch TCL TV. “My previous TV was 8 years old and toggling between stations and online offerings was simple and quick. Literally this is the opposite, using the exact same internet hookup, same room, same everything but the TV. I have to reboot constantly. Wish I hadn't bought this at all.”

Also Read: Roku Dips Again: Stock Down 100 Points Since Feb. 1 Despite Record Q4

Scanning reviews for inexpensive smart TVs from Roku-powered brands including not just TCL, but also Hisense and Westinghouse, a theme emerges. Users seem to complain about a preponderance of product defects, like cracked screens, as well as an overall feel of cheap build quality. That's what you get with cheaper consumer electronics. But a more common theme is an overall sluggishness of the Roku OS on these sets. 

“The interface on this TV is laggy,” wrote another TCL reviewer on Amazon. “Like it would freeze for a very short moment at times.”

These reviews are, of course, anecdotal snapshots. But this Next TV editor can corroborate the experience: My 55-inch TCL set’s plastic-laden Roku remote won’t work until I somewhat aggressively whack it on the coffee table several times. The interface is generally slow, and it often freezes--the entire set frequently has to be unplugged so that the CPU can be rebooted. 

These days, I mostly use a Chromecast with Google TV dongle to stream video on the TCL set, bypassing Roku altogether. The experience is night and day—the Google TV interface, basically a search-and-recommendation overlay onto Android TV, is fast, responsive and intuitive. It makes the experience of channel-surfing live TV guides much more pleasurable.

And it’s worth noting that I also have a Roku Smart Sound Bar powering my Epson 1080p projector in my main living room area. That device, which includes Roku’s premium 4K-capable player hardware, delivers an even better overall streaming experience than Google TV. 

In the streaming tech business, it’s somewhat widely accepted that smart TVs use lower cost computer hardware.

And for its part, Roku even boasts that it has a “structural advantage” over competitors Amazon and Google, in that its OS can run on cheaper silicon--the the operating system doesn't have to be inherently coded for high-powered smart phones, as the Android TV platform does. (Notable: Amazon Fire TV is rooted in Android TV tech, as well.)

“We've got the only purpose-built operating system for TV,” Roku CFO Steve Louden told investors in September. “That sounds strange, but it's very important in that [Roku founder Anthony Wood] and the early team designed the operating system to run on low-cost hardware. So, it's designed to leverage basic chips that have less power. It's designed to run on a tight memory footprint. We've kind of held the line on that for quite a while, versus our key competitors on the license OS side, like Android TV and Amazon Edition Fire TV, which uses a fourth version of Android.”

This advantage has made Roku the OS of choice for smart TV makers around the world.

The question is, what kind of user experience are consumers having streaming video over low-power chips and tight memory? 

Will Roku face a backlash in the coming years, with consumers finding that they’re better off bypassing the OS that has “pole position” on their living room set with a solid, premium streaming player, dongle or stick? And will that give an insurgent company like Google an opportunity to seize market share from Roku?

Ad-supported streaming service Haystack TV has expanded its worldwide distribution with a deal to be integrated into smart TV’s made by Hisense.

A Haystack TV app will be featured on Hisense’s new Vidaa smart TV platform.

“Vidaa aggregates content from the best global and local partners for Vidaa users,” said Guy Edri, executive VP of business development for Hisense’s Vidaa platform. “Bringing the best free content to our customers locally in every market and globally is Vidaa’s global strategy. We are pleased to bring Haystack’s carefully curated and customized blend of local, national and international news to our platform.  

Haystack TV delivers a customized mix of the day’s news from its library of more than 250 trusted premium news sources covering 85% of local U.S. markets

“Haystack is very pleased to bring our one-of-a-kind news experience to the Vidaa platform,” said Haystack TV CEO and co-founder Daniel Barreto. “Haystack TV’s partnership with Hisense - and its impressive lineup of 2020 TVs - will help fuel our rapid growth for 2020 and beyond.”

Haystack TV is available on platforms including Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV and Roku, as well as on LG, Samsung and Vizio smart TVs.

Tubi said it is launching its ad-supported streaming service in Mexico working with TV Azteca, a major producer of Spanish-language programming.

Tubi’s streaming service will be pre-loaded on TV sets made by Hisense in Mexico, where Hisense’s Vidaa platform will be Tubi’s exclusive connected TV partner.

“We’re thrilled to collaborate with a world-class partner and, together with TV Azteca, launch a new free streaming home to some of Mexico’s most celebrated television franchises,” said Tubi CEO Farhad Massoudi. “Our expansion into Latin America is just beginning and we look forward to announcing additional territories in the future.”

TV Azteca will handle advertising sales in Mexico and promote Tubi on its broadcast, online and other properties. 

Some of TV Azteca’s most popular shows will be available free to Tubi customer in Mexico.

“As part of TV Azteca’s transformation towards the future, we are looking forward to enhancing our distribution and make the best television productions available to a broader audience via Tubi,” said Alberto Ciurana, chief content & distribution officer for TV Azteca. “We are excited to be part of the construction of a more connected and technological Mexican audience.” 

Hisense will be giving Tubi prominent placement on the Vidaa TV homepage and promote the streaming service in-store and on packaging, including with Elektra stores, which are owned by TV Azteca.

“Providing users with access to the best free content locally in every market and from all over the world is one of the key goals of our platform, and Tubi is a great partner for this,” said Guy Edri, executive VP of business development for Hisense’s Vidaa platform. “The vast library of amazing content, provided by Tubi, is a great addition to our platform and will be a great benefit to consumers in Mexico. They will provide hours of high-quality entertainment in their language to buyers of Hisense TVs and will be completely free, which is a unique proposition not only in Mexico, but also globally.”

LAS VEGAS — At the just-wrapped CES Show, Chinese smart TV maker Hisense announced an update to the Vidaa operating system, which powers its smart TVs.

Virtual MVPD fuboTV will now be a native component of Vidaa. Users can access the subscription service, which markets itself on its broad access to soccer and other sports programming, by merely press the “sports” button on their Hisense remote control.

Hisense also announced the addition of Music on YouTube. And the set maker also touted a new partnership with digital art community DevianArt that renders access to 370 million pieces of digital art for Hisense owners to post on their televisions during dinner parties. 

"Vidaa aggregates content from the best global and local partners. We already have global partners including Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube, Red Bull TV, Deezer, DAZN, Rakuten TV and Hungama,” said  Hisense International Chairman Dr. Lan Lin, in a statement. “With the new update we are also bringing on our platform a new partnership with sports-focused live TV streaming service fuboTV. fuboTV's application is already pre-installed in every Hisense TV with Vidaa OS, and you can access a custom sports experience seamlessly by clicking the 'Sports' button on the remote.”

Smart TV makers including Hisense are increasingly developing their own native operating systems instead of partnering with established OTT device ecosystem providers, such as Roku and Amazon. 

AVOD operator Tubi announced a deal today today to integrate its programming library of around 20,000 movies and TV shows into Vidda, thew new video platform being launched by Hisense to power its smart TVs starting this spring. 

The deal was announced out of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. 

Tubi’s collection of licensed programming will be viewable to Hisense TV owners in the territories for which the ad-supported streaming platform has acquired programming rights— U.S., Canada, Australia and (most recently) the UK. 

“We’re excited to expand Tubi’s device footprint to include Hisense televisions with the new Vidaa platform, continuing our mission to make entertainment more accessible to everyone,” said Michael Ahiakpor, chief product officer at Tubi, in a statement. “Hisense has been a global leader in consumer electronics and is a perfect partner as we ramp up our international expansion in 2020.”

Tubi announced in September that the amount of content it was streaming to its viewers hard increased 40% over May to 132 million hours. 

The Hisense announcement comes as Xumo, another ad-supported supplier of programming to smart TVs, is reportedly in advanced talks to be acquired by Comcast. 

AVOD operator Tubi announced a deal today today to integrate its programming library of around 20,000 movies and TV shows into Vidda, thew new video platform being launched by Hisense to power its smart TVs starting this spring.

The deal was announced out of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Tubi’s collection of licensed programming will be viewable to Hisense TV owners in the territories for which the ad-supported streaming platform has acquired programming rights— U.S., Canada, Australia and (most recently) the UK.

“We’re excited to expand Tubi’s device footprint to include Hisense televisions with the new Vidaa platform, continuing our mission to make entertainment more accessible to everyone,” said Michael Ahiakpor, chief product officer at Tubi, in a statement. “Hisense has been a global leader in consumer electronics and is a perfect partner as we ramp up our international expansion in 2020.”

Tubi announced in September that the amount of content it was streaming to its viewers hard increased 40% over May to 132 million hours.

The Hisense announcement comes as Xumo, another ad-supported supplier of programming to smart TVs, is reportedly in advanced talks to be acquired by Comcast. 

Roku has signed a deal with Hisense to power the Chinese CE maker’s smart TVs with its operating system in the UK.

What amounts to an expansion of Roku's Hisense deal, disclosed by Roku CEO Anthony Wood in an during his keynote at the IFA Show in Berlin, is a significant step for Roku, which is competing fiercely with Amazon, Google and other tech and consumer electronics brands to control the user ecosystem that delivers over-the-top services like Netflix, Hulu and Disney+.

Right now, Roku and Amazon dominate North America and are both on quests to extend their hegemony to Europe and Latin America.

Earlier this week, Amazon announced its own set of European device deals with CE partners for its Fire TV platform, including Grundig, JVC and Toshiba.

Under the agreement with Hisense, the company will market Roku-enabled smart TVs in the United Kingdom, starting in the fourth quarter, with also infiltrate other European countries.

"We're the leader by a wide margin in the U.S., and we're just starting to get serious about international markets," Wood told Reuters at IFA consumer electronics fair in Berlin, the same event at which Amazon made its recent announcement.

Wood called the Hisense deal “a stepping stone to the rest of Europe.”

Roku said it had 30.5 million active users as of the end of the second quarter. In its own IFA announcement, Amazon declared Fire TV’s active user total to be 37 million.

Research company Convivia reported last month that Roku’s operating environment powers 43% of the world’s connected TV devices—everything from smart TVs to HDMI dongles the little boxes that sit on top of smart TVs. Amazon Fire TV, which has the next biggest market share, controls only around 18% of connected TV devices, Convivia said.

For Roku, which has seen its stock price nearly quadruple this year, growth is directly tied to the proliferation of the Roku ecosystem.

Roku generated $250.1 million in revenue in the second quarter, a 59% year-over-year uptick. The majority of that revenue, $167.1 million of it, was generated off of “platform revenue”—that is, selling advertising off apps that exist in the Roku ecosystem, such as AVOD service The Roku Channel.

Roku’s platform business is growing fast—86% year-over-year in Q2. The hardware business isn’t too shabby, either, growing at 24% to $82.4 million. But increasingly, Roku’s business is about the operating system and selling ads within it. Hardware is, also increasingly, a means for Roku to expand its global reach.

Roku has a small presence in the UK, France, but it’s real international presence is currently percolating, with the company looking to hoist a major Latin American push that will start out in Brazil—the same country that began Netflix’s global domination push back in 2011.

Netflix is actually just a company that makes content apps that fit into the Roku ecosystem. Roku makes the ecosystem, as well as apps that fill it up (like Roku Channel) and the hardware that enables that ecosystem (like the sound bar). Also unlike Netflix, Roku doesn’t make original content.

Still, Netflix is the OTT company that Roku is often compared to most these days.

On November 1, 2011, Netflix stock bottomed out at $9.22 a share. Less than two months earlier, the subscription streaming company began its international expansion to 43 countries and territories in Central and South America, as well as the Caribbean. Brazil became the first Latin American country Netflix launched into, with service starting on September 5, 2011. As of midday trading today on the Nasdaq, Netflix is trading at $289.47 a share.

Roku which was trading below $30 a share last year, was closing in on a share price of $160 last week.

“In our view, Roku will experience similar phased stages of international growth as Netflix did during its international expansion,” analyst Ralph Schackart said in a note to clients late last month.

Added Wood: "Our goal is to be the leading streaming platform for households.”

Get complete coverage of CES 2017

Xumo, the company behind a free, ad-supported video platform for connected TVs and mobile apps, said it has inked a deal to power a “virtual input” on new 2016 and 2017 Hisense and Sharp smart TVs in the U.S.

Xumo said the deal paves the way for it to offer 60 free streaming channels on a new Xumo-labeled virtual input selection on supported connected TVs from Hisense and Sharp. China-based Hisense struck a deal to acquire Sharp America in 2015.

RELATED: Vizio Adds Xumo to SmartCast Line-Up

As part of the native integration of Xumo’s OTT service, supported smart TVs from Hisense and Sharp will also support a “last channel” feature that enables viewers to pick up where they left off without needing to switch inputs.

“Xumo’s native integration with Hisense and Sharp smart TVs as a virtual input is the first of its kind,” Colin Petrie-Norris, Xumo’s CEO said, in a statement.

Xumo, which has launched apps for iOS and Android, is also offered on devices and smart TVs from Vizio, Panasonic, and Funai Electric Co. Ltd., which sells Sanyo-, Magnavox- and Philips-branded TVs in North America. Xumo is also on Channel Plus, an offering exclusive to LG-made connected TVs.

RELATED: LG Tunes In ‘Channel Plus’

Super Bowl Sunday will have no shortage of promos and marketing tilts all aimed at grabbing our attention.

So, here’s one more you might want to know about, especially if your TV is getting a bit long in the tooth.

TV maker Hisense said it’s giving away some 50-inch 4K TVs to some lucky people who tweet the #RetireMyTV hashtag before midnight on Super Bowl Sunday. Per the fine print, Hisense will give away 50 H7GB1 Series TVs (retail value: $650), and potential winners will be notified via Twitter by midnight ET February 10.

And if you don’t have any rooting interest in the outcome of the game, perhaps you’ll want to pull for Peyton Manning to hang ‘em up soon after the big game. If Old Man Peyton retires within a week of Super Bowl 50, Hisense will “give away 50 more in his honor.”

Happy tweeting. And, go Broncos!