Update 1 (09/22/2020 @ 11:41 AM ET): Samsung TV Plus officially launches on Samsung's flagship Android smartphones this week. Scroll to the bottom for more information. The article as published on April 21, 2020, is preserved below.
A lot of the content that we consume has made the shift from traditional cable TV to mobile, to the point that there are several popular services that do not have a TV alternative, and instead, solely focus on mobile. Cable TV still contains segments that appeal to a certain demographic, and this often remains a reason enough for them to continue availing the service separately. Samsung looked at this problem and came up with a solution for its smart TVs in the form of Samsung TV Plus, a free TV service for users in Canada and USA, offering over 100 TV channels for free over the internet. Now, a new report claims that Samsung is looking to bring this service over to mobile, likely as a Galaxy-exclusive.
According to a report by SamMobile, Samsung is planning to bring over Samsung TV Plus to mobile devices through a mobile app. The mobile app for the service is under development, and it will aim to deliver the same functionality as the service offers on Samsung's Smart TVs. Sammobile speculates that the TV Plus mobile app may remain an exclusive for Samsung Galaxy smartphones, as the service is a Samsung-exclusive and works only on the company's TVs.
If the mobile app does go on to mirror the functionality of the TV app, then users will be able to watch TV channels as well as access Video-On-Demand content. Content channels include beIN SPORTS EXTRA, Bon Appétit, CBS News, Crime 360, fubo Sports Network, Fuse, Kitchen Nightmares, Lively Place, Outside TV+, Reelz, Tastemade, The Design Network, VEVO, Yahoo Finance, and many more. Movies are made available through Samsung's The Movie Hub channel. Users may also be able to pick up content where they last left off. Currently, it is unknown how Samsung will be monetizing the service for mobile if at all they choose to in the first place. At least on Samsung Smart TVs, the service is ad-supported but otherwise free -- so users do not have to pay any subscription fees, or even bother logging in.
Update: Samsung TV Plus Launches on Mobile
Samsung TV Plus has been a quiet success story for the Korean tech giant, which is surprising considering how the company has struggled to grow its other media services in the past. According to Samsung Electronics SVP Sang Kim speaking to Protocol, Samsung TV Plus streams "billions of minutes every month." In fact, it's one of the five most popular apps on Samsung smart TVs according to the company, and it's completely free (but supported by advertisements.)
Now, Samsung is launching TV Plus on mobile this week, but it'll only be available on Samsung's latest flagship smartphones. The Samsung Galaxy Note 20, Galaxy S20, Galaxy Note 10, and Galaxy S10 will be able to access Samsung TV Plus starting tomorrow through a new app published on the Galaxy Store and Google Play Store. There's no word on if or when the service will be available for other Samsung or third-party Android devices.