Jordan O'BrienSamsung is finally bringing its virtual TV channel to smart TV owners in the UK, France, Italy and Spain. The new service launching for the European market is being launched in partnership with Ratuken Wuaki, and will offer premium 4K HDR movies and TV shows for sale, the first VOD service to do so in Europe.
Despite the current scandal surrounding Samsung’s line-up of smart TVs, which deemed the underlying code ‘the worst’ a security researcher had ever seen, Samsung’s new service will be welcomed by users. While it’s relatively easy to find 4K content online, it’s not as easy to find the latest movies and TV shows available in both the higher resolution and HDR.
Samsung TV owners can already access a plethora of 4K HDR content through services such as Amazon Video and Netflix, although this new partnership will bring films that aren’t available on those services. That could include everything from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, to Logan, although neither Samsung or Ratuken Wuaki have commented on what videos will be available.
Samsung TV Plus
Having launched in South Korea last year, Samsung’s TV Plus service lets users browse videos by flipping channels like a regular TV service. It’s designed to make accessing video on demand content easier for users who may not know how to use services like Netflix and Amazon Video.
TV Plus has thus far been a success story in South Korea, with Samsung having rolled out it out to further markets, including Thailand, Vietnam and the United States. Now the electronics giant is ready for a European roll-out, with Germany having already received the service in January 2017.
Samsung has confirmed that TV Plus will be available soon in the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Spain.
Rakuten Wuaki
Those using Samsung TV Plus will be able to find countless movies and TV shows on offer and watch previews from IP-based TV channels run by Rakuten Wuaki. The content will be split into categories covering Newly Released, Kids, Action and Comedy.
The interface of the app has been designed as a scrolling channel menu to make it as familiar to the average consumer as possible. Once a user has selected the film they want to watch, all that is needed is payment information and they can watch the full movie. There will be two options for buying movies, with users given the option to either rent or buy to keep.
“At Samsung, our goal is to help our consumers discover the content they want to watch, rather than make it difficult to find,” says Heeman Lee, vice president of Connective TV services at Samsung Electronics.
“With this in mind, we’re proud to partner with Rakuten Wuaki to expand availability of TV Plus in Europe, offering the fastest way to discover the latest 4K HDR movies and entertainment on Samsung QLED TVs.”
“Through TV PLUS, Rakuten and Samsung have been able to come together to offer consumers a wide variety of content options from an assortment of different genres and interests. A complete offer for everyone in the family,” adds Jacinto Roca, chief executive officer of Rakuten Wuaki.
“Rakuten is excited to grow our partnership with Samsung as we continue to look for new, innovative ways for users to consume the content they desire.”