Telly starts shipping its free ad-supported 55-inch TVs

To even use the thing, you’ll need to commit to having your viewing data sucked up and used by advertisers. If you’re okay with that, you can also use the secondary display to show widgets that surface sports scores, a news sticker, the weather, and more. The TV features a camera (with a privacy shutter) for fitness programs as well, along with a set of built-in games.

Additionally, Telly announced that it’s working with Nielsen to “collect and interpret first-of-its-kind viewership and ad effectiveness insights” for advertisers and TV programmers. It’s also working with Microsoft, Magnite, and MNTN to power the ads on the TV. Microsoft became Netflix’s advertising partner for its new ad-supported tier last year.

It’s not clear how many customers Telly is shipping its TVs out to during this round, but it says those who receive the device will get to participate in the public beta program. That means they’ll also get access to some of the features Telly is making available at launch, including integrations with Spotify, LiveOne, and Zoom. Telly doesn’t come with streaming apps, however, so you’ll have to settle for using a third-party Roku device, Amazon Fire Stick, or Apple TV.

“We are thrilled to begin shipping what is by far the smartest television ever built to consumers,” Telly CEO and founder Ilya Pozin said in a statement. “Our disruptive ad supported business model makes the television completely free to consumers, but the most exciting thing about Telly is the technology that enables our dual-screen television to get better with every update.”

Even though you’ll have to sacrifice a part of your privacy to use Telly, a free TV might be too hard to pass up for some. One month after Telly opened up its waitlist, 250,000 people already signed up, and I’m guessing that number has increased since then.