Telly TV users might be charged a fee for blocking second screen

The free-TV startup Telly made a splash last month with the unveiling of its dual-screen TV that comes absolutely free, so long as you watch the ads on the second screen. Now we’re getting more details about the fine print, including what might happen if you block that secondary display.

During an interview with The Streamable, a Telly exec said that one of the terms of Telly’s user agreement is that owners of the set must not “cover or otherwise attempt to disable” the second screen.

If a Telly user does block the secondary screen, which displays advertisements as well as news and sports headlines, weather reports, and other information, they’d be violating the Telly service agreement and could potentially face a stiff fine.

“Consumers who violate our terms and conditions and refuse to return the Telly will be charged the $1,000 value of the television,” Telly CSO Dallas Lawrence told The Streamable.

Among the other conditions of the Telly user agreement is that Telly owners must use the dual-screen TV as the “primary TV in the household in the living room,” Lawrence added. In other words, you may run afoul of Telly TV’s rules if you stick the dual-screen set in a second room and do most of your TV watching on a massive OLED.

Now, it’s not clear exactly how Telly would enforce the rules in its service agreement, or how strict it would be with violations.

In the interview with The Streamable, Telly’s Dallas Lawrence emphasized that charging a fee to users who violate the company’s terms of service would be a “final step,” implying that your Telly wouldn’t spit out a $1,000 ticket the instant you drape a towel over the Telly TV’s second screen.

Still, it’s clear that the Telly TV’s lack of a price tag is incumbent on users actually watching the ads displayed on the secondary screen, and if you don’t like the idea of a second TV display with ads, you should probably pay up for a standard television.

We’ve reached out to Telly for more details.

Telly revealed its free dual-screen TV last month. The set will come with a 55-inch 4K HDR display, plus a shorter, secondary “smart” screen running along the entirety of the main display’s width.

Sitting between the two screens is a “powerful” five-driver soundbar, and other features will include an HD video camera for video chats, a motion sensor, a microphone array, and a “Hey Telly” voice assistant. 

The Telly will come with a trio of HDMI inputs that allow you to connect your own streaming video player, and an Android TV dongle will be included.

While Telly’s terms and conditions forbid users from blocking the TV’s second screen, the company hopes that you won’t want to.

Besides ads, the second screen will offer a variety of “new experience,” Telly promises, including news and sports tickers, Zoom-powered video conferencing, a “game room” with roughly 40 video games (“from arcade classics to immersive multiplayer experiences”), streaming music, and “motion-tracking” fitness programs.

Telly is currently accepting reservations for its free dual-screen TVs, but it’s not clear if any units have actually shipped yet.