Samsung is adding a set to its free television offering for smart TV owners from 2016. The South Korean company has teamed up with Rakuten TV to bring 166 new channels to its Samsung TV Plus.
For those who didn’t know, Samsung TV Plus is a free ad-supported video streaming service built into Samsung Smart TVs. While Samsung has a pretty solid selection of streaming apps including Apple TV, Disney +, Netflix, and more that are supported on their TVs, most of them require a paid subscription every month. If you’ve just emptied your wallet on a shiny new 4K TV or QLED device, this might not be particularly tempting.
The ability to watch movies and box sets for free is a huge plus for Samsung TVs. With the latest deal with Rakuten TV, TV owners are in the process of unlocking dozens of additional channels. The 166 new channels will air on the Samsung TV Plus service in 16 markets across Europe, including the UK, through April and May.
Rakuten TV already has a number of channels in the UK, Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Austria and Switzerland. While viewers in the UK don’t see as many newcomers as they do in Sweden and the Netherlands, they have never enjoyed any of these channels and are receiving the full 166.
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As part of the new flurry of channels, Rakuten is launching its own themed genre channels including Rakuten Action, Rakuten Comedy, Drama, Spotlight, Rakuten Documentaries and Family. There are also Rakuten Movies and Rakuten Stories – a channel designed to bring original and exclusive content to Rakuten TV’s.
Other global channels such as Africanews, Bloomberg TV, Bloomberg Quicktake and Euronews are also included in the Samsung TV Plus service.
Of course, if you want to make a little extra cash, Rakuten TV is only too happy to do it. Headquartered in Japan, the company enables Samsung Smart TV owners to rent some of the latest Hollywood blockbusters, indie films, and more. Rakuten also offers access to Starzplay, which doesn’t have its own streaming app but is available through Rakuten, Apple TV, and Prime Video.
According to the official announcement, as of 2016, you will need a Samsung Smart TV to access Samsung TV Plus and the new advertising-financed channels. You must also live in the UK, Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Austria or Switzerland.
The new content drop for Samsung TV Plus is part of a larger undertaking to watch ad-supported channels for free for £ 10 a month in response to streaming options like Netflix and Disney +. Famous for its easy-to-use set-top boxes, Roku has secured the rights to a number of exclusive shows for its ad-supported Roku channel, which is available (obviously) on its own devices as well as on NOW and Sky Q boxes.
Meanwhile, Plex – originally designed for viewers to bring their own home media to the big screen – now has an ad-supported streaming service featuring films from major Hollywood studios on the go thanks to a recently signed contract. Samsung is the world’s most popular television manufacturer, so it’s in a pretty good position to compete with these competitors.
