Samsung may set its free TV Plus streaming app on other brand TVs

Samsung TV Plus app, which hosts hundreds of free channels, may eventually come to non-Samsung TVs. That's according to media technology reporter Janko Roettgers, who writes in his Lowpass newsletter that Samsung is discussing bringing its streaming app to TCL TVs. Samsung TV Plus is a free ad-supported streaming (FAST) service, introduced in 2015, that is offered pre-installed on newer Samsung TVs. The service offers viewers a way to flip through a collection of channels like a traditional television service.

Samsung TV Plus has a solid list of content for a free app, and Samsung added popular shows like Top Gear, Law & Order Special Victims Unit, NCIS, and Chicago Fire last August. It offers several local and national news channels, along with channels started by Samsung, like Ride or Drive and The Movie Hub. Currently, TV Plus has around 1,600 channels spread across 24 different countries, along with 220 channels in the US.

While Samsung has come up with an idea of licensing individual channels to other TV makers, a source tells Roettgers these talks "do not seem to have gone anywhere." That's why Samsung has switched gears to offer the full TV Plus app to third-party makers. Over the years, Samsung has been working on expanding the reach of TV Plus, making the service available on Galaxy devices, the web, and on select Family Hub refrigerator models.

Other TV makers, including TCL, LG and Vizio, have their own free streaming apps, which also compete with services that aren't attached to specific TVs, including Amazon, NBC's Peacock, Fox's Tubi, Roku, and Paramount's Pluto TV. It seems that Samsung wants to make its TV Plus service a floating app as well, but it's not clear if other manufacturers will want the app on their TVs or if the app will even catch on.

In August, Samsung said TV Plus saw 100 per cent growth in consumer viewing over the last year, with viewers streaming 3 billion hours worldwide. Moreover, a report from Deadline attests to the growth of the FAST market as a whole, as data obtained by the S&P Market Intelligence outlet indicates that the FAST market in the US was expected to generate around $4K. million in revenue last year and could hit nearly $9 billion by 2026.

Other companies, including Warner Bros. Discovery, are closely following the opportunities presented by the FAST industry. Even YouTube has begun testing a free, ad-supported channel as a potential option for users who don't want to pay the rising streaming costs of Netflix, Disney Plus, and Hulu but also don't want cable.