ScreenHits TV and TCL Falcon have entered into a multi-year deal that should substantially expand the streaming aggregator’s reach. As part of the pact, ScreenHits’s Android app will be installed in 73 million TCL connected televisions globally.
TCL currently operates in more than 160 countries. ScreenHits TV allows users to integrate the streaming platforms they subscribe to such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Bloomberg and Starz into one central hub. But the service also enables users to see what is trending across all their TV streaming applications and to have recommended content via its “TV Friends” social function. That function allows consumers to see what other users in their social network are watching and enjoying.
“The number one way that people find something to watch is through friends recommending it,” says ScreenHits CEO-Founder Rose Hulse. “What’s unique about ScreenHits is that we’re a social app where you can share what you’re watching with your group. Everybody has a different approach to aggregation. We add a human element to it. You’re not just getting recommendations from some algorithm.”
The service is also available via desktop and iOS mobile/tablet app. It plans to soon be available on Amazon Fire TV, Android phones/tablets and other connected TV manufacturers.
ScreenHits’ Mariano Kon, VP of content and business development and general manager for Latin America, in conjunction with Director of Corporate Development James Carter Johnson, have fostered the relationship with TCL. Discussions were initially focused on offering the app to more than 4 million TCL connected TVs in Spanish-speaking Latin American territories but later expanded into the worldwide deal.
ScreenHits currently operates in the U.S., UK, Germany, Mexico, Colombia and Argentina, and is pursuing an expansion plan that would make it available in more than 50 countries by the end of 2022. Its growth will continue to accelerate across TCL markets in Europe, the Indian sub-continent, Africa, North and Latin America throughout 2023 and 2024.
Hulse says the company, which charges users to subscribe, has worked closely with major streamers. They believe that by corralling all the various services in one place, they will improve customer satisfaction and prevent consumers from hitting the unsubscribe button, substantially reducing churn.
“With ScreenHits you’re not getting recommended content on channels that you don’t subscribe to,” says Hulse. “Instead it allows you to get the most out of the services you do subscribe to.”
