Samsung TV Plus released a slew of new channels, titles, and an extensive product update to help find new content on the free platform.
The free ad-supported streaming service found on Samsung smart TVs on Thursday received update 5.2, which provides some changes to the experience. Users can find dedicated content from the new home screen along with discoverability features.
The upgrade also connects users to Best of Kids, which contains more than 20 family-friendly channels, television series, and on-demand films, such as Blippi, Barney and Friends, Baby Einstein, Teletubbies, Caillou, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros 3, and Sonic the Hedgehog. The section also hosts PBS KIDS, Strawberry Shortcake, Slugterra, Moonbug, Ryan and Friends, LEGO Channel, and Kidoodle.TV.
Free ad-supported streaming services are making a rise in popularity as more people turn away from multiple paid platforms as a way to cut entertainment costs. Ad revenue from free platforms is expected to reach $7.2 billion this year according to Statista. More smart TV manufacturers are investing in their own FAST services, such as LG’s Channels available in the U.S. and Europe.
Samsung TV Plus has expanded to more than 300 channels in the U.S. and more than 2,4000 global channels featuring news, sports, entertainment, and music since launching in 2015. It was one of the first free ad-supported channels available on Samsung Smart TVs, Galaxy devices, Smart Monitors, Family Hub refrigerators, and online. In the last 12 months, Samsung TV Plus has seen a 60% increase in year-over-year viewership worldwide.
The Samsung upgrade also brings a new dedicated music destination where fans can check out their favorite artists and discover new songs from over 200 playlists and over 40 channels from Vevo, XITE, and Stingray. Users can search through playlists sorted by decade, such as ‘90s Country, or sort by genre, like Hip-Hop Icons. Members can also sort by artists, including Beyonce, Ariana Grande, The Weekend, and The Rolling Stones.
“With phenomenal year over year growth and an ever-expanding premium lineup of family-friendly shows, music playlists, news, sports programming, and more, Samsung TV Plus has a clear foothold in the FAST landscape,” said Salek Brodsky, senior vice president and general manager of Samsung TV Plus. “We are thrilled to present our catalog of free premium content from the world’s top creators in our new user experience, designed to enable the seamless discovery of the hundreds of channels and thousands of on-demand movies and TV shows available on Samsung TV Plus.”
Samsung TV Plus also added new movie channels. Movie Hub West, Movie Hub Action, and Movie Hub Holidays will feature thousands of live and on-demand films, including Bridget Jones’s Diary, Collateral, Cruel Intentions, Silver Linings Playbook, The Hurt Locker, Titanic, Gladiator, and Imitation Game.
News coverage is also expanding, bringing the headlines from all four major news networks, ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC, as well as business news networks Bloomberg TV+, Sky News, Scripps News, Cheddar News, USA Today, and Yahoo Finance.
For the holidays, Samsung TV Plus added festive entertainment such as Feliz NaviDAD featuring Mario Lopez and fan favorites from Hallmark and Lifetime. Households can also check out a variety of seasonal music video playlists and cozy up with Samsung TV Plus’ crackling Fireplace 4K channel.
Samsung TV Plus now hosts ten new Spanish-language channels featuring multilingual and multicultural news and programs. Members can catch TelevisaUnivision’s global streaming service, ViX, as well as Ebony TV by Lionsgate featuring The Great Debaters, Snitch, Dear White People, Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself, Are We There Yet?, and Kevin Hart: What the Fit.
Households with Samsung Smart TV models 2019-2023 will see the upgraded version and new content first, with additional Smart TVs and Galaxy mobile devices getting the update in early 2024.
Image credit: Samsung TV Plus
Correction: an earlier version of this post listed Samsung’s growth at 50% instead of the correct number of 60%. We apologize for the mistake.