Samsung plans to introduce three new Smart TV offerings it hopes will give customers a more tailored and personalized viewing experience. Next week at the Consumer Electronics Show, the company will announce it has teamed up with Fandango to extend its “TV plus” library of content.
In addition, its Smart TVs will now feature dedicated services around sports and music, all designed to provide personalized content for viewers.
Launched in February, TV Plus is Samsung’s “virtual channel” video service that is slowly making its way around the world. It debuted in Korea, then expanded to Thailand and Vietnam before eventually being supported in the U.S. The company has been gradually adding new content providers to the video-on-demand offering. The latest one is Fandango, which will offer to subscribers more than 40,000 movies and shows to rent or own through FandangoNow.
But it appears that the Fandango deal is only available to those in the U.S. Samsung is working with Japanese internet company Rakuten to provide premium streaming content in Europe, but native media company Funke in Germany. For those in Asia, you appear out of luck.
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Above: Samsung has added a sports service to Smart TVs that provides personalized results to viewers.
But if you’re more of a fan of sports and music, Samsung’s Smart TV will now feature dedicated sections customized to your viewing and listening habits.
With its sports service, Samsung provides you with information on when your favorite teams are playing and the scores, all in one space, similar to what cable providers like Comcast currently offer. The difference is that it’s now being done by the manufacturer, not a provider. As of right now, information on games from Major League Baseball, the National Football League, and the National Basketball Association is being displayed, but Samsung plans on adding more content partners, including NBC Sports, the UFC, and others.
As for music, through your Smart TV, you can search and identify songs played on live TV or through a television program — it’s like having a built-in Shazam or SoundHound. The dedicated music service also functions as a streaming music player, thanks to Samsung’s partnership with Spotify, iHeartRadio, Napster, Deezer, Sirius XM, Vevo, Melon, and Bugs. Seven countries will have access to these capabilities right away: France, Germany, Italy, South Korea, Spain, the U.K., and the U.S.
