Telly’s free-TV gamble stumbles as only 35,000 units reach homes
TL;DR Summary
The Verge reports that free-TV startup Telly has only 35,000 TVs in people’s homes (28,000 in the field last quarter) after promising to ship 500,000 units, with plans to ramp up by ordering 100,000 more from Foxconn. The rollout has been plagued by damaged shipments—FedEx breakage was about 10% before switching to RXO—leading the company to rethink logistics. Telly has raised roughly $350 million in debt and, despite indications of more than $50 in advertising revenue per unit per month (hinting at strong ARPU relative to rivals), scaling the hardware and distribution remains the core hurdle for turning the concept into a sustainable business.
- Free TV startup Telly only had 35,000 units in people’s homes last fall The Verge
- Telly has only delivered 35,000 of its free televisions with always-on ads Engadget
- Telly’s "free" ad-based TVs make notable revenue—when they’re actually delivered Ars Technica
- Lilbits: If you’re not paying for it, you’re not the customer Liliputing
- The free Telly TV with ads is off to a rocky start FlatpanelsHD
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