Samsung TV Plus Swings for the Fences With Streaming Sports Channels (NewFronts)
Service tunes up with Warner Music deal
Samsung’s ad-supported streaming platform Samsung TV Plus is putting more sports in its lineup with free channels about baseball, golf, hockey, auto racing and combat sports.
Baseball fans will be able to stream the MLB FAST channel, which features a weekly game replay, minor-league game recaps and other exclusive content to come later in the season.
For golf fans, the PGA Tour channel will have behind-the-scenes programming, documentaries, tournament recaps and highlights.
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The Ontario Reign, the American Hockey League minor league affiliate of the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, are featured in an AHL FAST channel.
Samsung TV Plus (presenting today at the IAB NewFronts) will also have the new Formula One channel, enabling viewers to catch up on races with analysis, replays and documentaries.
Samsung TV users will also get access to One Championship TV, with martial arts highlights, series and behind-the-scenes features.
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The move highlights how streamers are looking to add popular sports content.
Music channels are also being added through an exclusive arrangement with Warner Music that will add content to Samsung TV Plus. Playlists available to viewers include The Drop, with on-demand videos featuring new album releases, career retrospectives, interviews and behind-the-scenes content; and Artist Odyssey, a chronological playlist through an artist’s catalog with first-hand counts from friends, directors, label execs, managers, fans and sometimes the artist.
Last week, Mattel announced that it was launching FAST Channels with Samsung, including Barbie & Friends.
“Since day one, creating a service that delivers the very best in entertainment for the entire family has been our focus, and with this newest suite of major league sports channels and first-to-FAST content from Mattel and the Warner Music Group, we’ve raised that bar to new heights,” Samsung TV Plus senior VP and general manager Salek Brodsky said. “This is not just the kind of programming that consumers love, but also the content that brands and advertisers are looking for at a scale, which only Samsung can deliver.”
Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.