Smart TVs Are Still Dumb. Amazon’s Daniel Rausch Sees Fire TV Changing That
variety.comAndrew Wallenstein President and Chief Media Analyst A smart TV may be the biggest technological investment you make in your home.
Yet it’s not being used approximately 20 hours per day. That strikes Daniel Rausch, VP of entertainment devices and services at Amazon, as an opportunity for the brand he oversees at the tech giant: Fire TV, which allows consumers to stream video to their living-room screen either in the form of small devices that plug into that screen or in the TV set itself, whether manufactured by a partner like Hisense or Amazon.
But to take advantage of all that unused screen time, Rausch doesn’t just want the 200 million Fire TV-branded devices and TV sets he’s sold to date worldwide to be the best portal for serving up Netflix or Disney Plus; he believes Fire TV can be the hub for a smart-home experience that does a lot more than just provide access to entertainment. Listen to the podcast here: “We’ve had this term ‘smart TV’ for so long, and really all that it ever got to for customers is sort of a TV that connects to the internet, has a so-so user interface, not really organizing your content for you,” said Rausch on the latest episode of the Variety podcast “Strictly Business.” “It should be helpful throughout the day.
For example, you should you be able to see your calendar on it. Why wouldn’t you get suggestions about new content recommendations, or even recipes from your TV?” Last month, Amazon announced expansion plans for Fire TV, including new sizes of the Fire TV Omni QLED Series lineup as well as its lowest-priced HDTV yet, the entry-level Fire TV 2-Series, which starts at $200 for the 32-inch model.
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