Samsung's TV Plus free streaming service is now open to all
07-11-21 | 06:46 AM
#1
Thread Starter
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Samsung's TV Plus free streaming service is now open to all
Samsung quietly launched its TV Plus streaming service on the web
Samsung quietly launched its TV Plus streaming service on the web
Live and linear TV for free
By Catie Keck Jul 9, 2021, 7:44pm EDTSamsung recently launched a web version of its free and ad-supported Smart TV Plus streaming service for live and linear programming as well as added casting support for Chromecast devices.
The streaming product, which was previously limited to Samsung TV and mobile devices, launched as a web service in the second quarter, Protocol reported Friday. It’s a curious new player in the streaming wars and launched with seemingly little fanfare, but the rollout makes an app that was previously limited to Samsung users now widely available to just about anyone.
Samsung did not have immediate comment about the launch when reached on Friday. However, a spokesperson confirmed the launch of the web version of the service to Protocol.
Samsung TV Plus has been around for years — it’s been available on Samsung smart TVs since 2016 — but the rollout to additional devices outside of the streaming ecosystem places it more directly in competition with ad-supported streaming services like Peacock, the Roku Channel, or any number of linear-programming freebies like Pluto TV or Plex.
While it’s unclear why the company seems to have decided to soft launch the web version of its streaming service now, Samsung appears to be exploring ways to bring TV Plus to a larger audience. Choice is always great and you can’t beat the price of free (particularly if you can stand to sit through ads), but if Samsung’s ambitions are to dominate the linear streaming space, it’s a bit late to the party.
By Catie Keck Jul 9, 2021, 7:44pm EDTSamsung recently launched a web version of its free and ad-supported Smart TV Plus streaming service for live and linear programming as well as added casting support for Chromecast devices.
The streaming product, which was previously limited to Samsung TV and mobile devices, launched as a web service in the second quarter, Protocol reported Friday. It’s a curious new player in the streaming wars and launched with seemingly little fanfare, but the rollout makes an app that was previously limited to Samsung users now widely available to just about anyone.
Samsung did not have immediate comment about the launch when reached on Friday. However, a spokesperson confirmed the launch of the web version of the service to Protocol.
Samsung TV Plus has been around for years — it’s been available on Samsung smart TVs since 2016 — but the rollout to additional devices outside of the streaming ecosystem places it more directly in competition with ad-supported streaming services like Peacock, the Roku Channel, or any number of linear-programming freebies like Pluto TV or Plex.
While it’s unclear why the company seems to have decided to soft launch the web version of its streaming service now, Samsung appears to be exploring ways to bring TV Plus to a larger audience. Choice is always great and you can’t beat the price of free (particularly if you can stand to sit through ads), but if Samsung’s ambitions are to dominate the linear streaming space, it’s a bit late to the party.
Not having a Samsung TV or other device, I had no idea they had their own streaming channel. I've noticed a lot of overlap of content among the popular free streamers, so I'm guessing TV Plus isn't much different. Buy hey, another streaming option.
Link to the web version: https://samsungtvplus.com/
07-11-21 | 08:33 AM
#2
Re: Samsung's TV Plus free streaming service is now open to all
Channel lineup
https://www.samsung.com/us/televisio.../all-channels/
Some devices (Roku, LG, etc) will not carry this as they offer their own similar services.
https://www.samsung.com/us/televisio.../all-channels/
Some devices (Roku, LG, etc) will not carry this as they offer their own similar services.
07-11-21 | 10:54 AM
#4
Re: Samsung's TV Plus free streaming service is now open to all
....and Pluto TV etc. I don't really understand the value of channels like these unless you just must have moving pictures on your TV at all times. Seems like very little quality content & a whole lot of commercials.
07-11-21 | 11:24 AM
#5
DVD Talk God
Re: Samsung's TV Plus free streaming service is now open to all
Really it’s just a mix of stuff that’s already out there on Pluto, XUMO and other ad supported live TV streaming channels.
07-11-21 | 10:43 PM
#6
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Samsung's TV Plus free streaming service is now open to all
When I first starting using it a few years ago they had a cable digital subchannel(can't remember which one but not MeTV) but it didn't last long and was quickly pulled.
07-14-21 | 04:44 PM
#7
Banned
Re: Samsung's TV Plus free streaming service is now open to all
These are all just free content aggregators consisting of content that can be (relatively) easily found elsewhere and consist of things that most people wouldn't watch.
08-01-25 | 09:39 PM
#8
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Samsung's TV Plus free streaming service is now open to all
Yesterday I thought my TV was defective with network error messages
https://www.theverge.com/news/717210...apps-issuesbut it was a widespread outage
Samsung smart TVs appear to be functioning normally again after experiencing a global outage yesterday. Users across Reddit and Samsung’s community forum started reporting issues with their TVs at around 5PM ET on Thursday, finding themselves unable to open apps like YouTube, Apple TV, Hulu, and Prime Video.
While apps were still visible on the Samsung TV menu, attempting to open them would display a variety of error messages, such as those related to server maintenance, certification errors, and lost connectivity. Many users found that Netflix was unaffected by the outages, which uses its own content delivery network — suggesting that the issues were connected to the servers used by other streaming apps.
The cause of the outage is currently unclear, however, and Samsung has not publicly acknowledged the issues on its website or social channels. We have reached out to Samsung for more information.
While apps were still visible on the Samsung TV menu, attempting to open them would display a variety of error messages, such as those related to server maintenance, certification errors, and lost connectivity. Many users found that Netflix was unaffected by the outages, which uses its own content delivery network — suggesting that the issues were connected to the servers used by other streaming apps.
The cause of the outage is currently unclear, however, and Samsung has not publicly acknowledged the issues on its website or social channels. We have reached out to Samsung for more information.
