LG Electronics USA is nearing the launch of Channel Plus, a streaming service powered by Xumo that offers a menu of live and on-demand content on the TV-maker’s 2016 lineup of webOS-based smart televisions.
Channel Plus, coming to LG TVs with webOS 3.0, will feature free, ad-supported digital content from partners such as Time, PBS Digital Studios, Wired, Saveur, Cooking Light, GQ and Sports Illustrated, along with channels from BuzzFeed, Mashable, Reuters, FailArmy and Funny or Die. LG said High-quality international channels are also available free of charge for users with international tastes.
Channel Plus, available starting this month with a software update on 2016 LG smart TVs, will offer nearly 50 channels at launch, including some international channels. A channel from the new PeopleEntertainment Network from Time Inc. is slated to launch later this year.
LG said “channels” on the new OTT service look like traditional TV channels and surf them without having to launch them like a separate app.
“By delivering premium Internet content seamlessly with broadcast channels together in the same channel lineup, LG aims to make it easier than ever for consumers to find and enjoy the content they want to watch in one centralized place – whether it’s streaming or broadcast,” David VanderWaal, VP of marketing at LG Electronics, said in statement.
Xumo, an aggregator of ad-based OTT fare, also has integrations with Vizio, Panasonic and Funai Electric, which makes Sanyo-, Magnavox- and Philips-branded TVs in North America. It recently launched a mobile app for iOS, with a version for Android on deck.
