Vizio Premieres Fresher Design for WatchFree Plus

By Jon Lafayette
( Broadcasting & Cable )
last updated

Users get new channel guide, with picture in picture feature

Vizio WatchFree Plus
(Image credit: Vizio)

Vizio is releasing an updated design for its Watch Free Plus free streaming service.

The new design includes a more intuitive electronic program guide to help viewers choose from more than 260 channels, faster navigation and personalization features.

The WatchFree Plus Guide also displays upcoming content in 30 minute intervals.

Also: More Scripps Channels Go FAST In Deal With Vizio

For advertisers, the new design makes it easier to prompt contextually relevant content.

"We are proud of the growth we have seen across our free streaming service,” Steve Yum, VP of software product management at Vizio. "This redesign makes it easier than ever to navigate and explore the continually expanding universe of entertainment on WatchFree Plus across live and on demand programming.”

During its third-quarter earnings report, Vizio said that SmartCast active accounts rose 15% to 16.6 million and hours viewed rose 17% to 4.2 billion hours.

Gross profit from Vizio’s Platform Plus business rose 38% to $78.9 million as revenues increased 49% to $128 million.

The WatchFree Plus design also features picture in picture, enabling users to continue watching a show while browsing other channels, listings of channel genres and easy access to on-demand titles. ■

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.