Samsung adds more free channels and content to its TV Plus lineup

Samsung is making more content available on TV Plus, its free ad-supported streaming package that’s built into a number of Samsung devices and available on the web. The update introduces several new shows such as Top Gear, Law and Order Special Victims Unit, NCISand Chicago Fire.

In addition to the new shows, TV Plus is getting two exclusive Samsung-owned channels: Ride or Drive, a station aimed at car fans, and Samsung Showcase, a channel dedicated to “concerts, events and specials”. It also partnered with A&E to launch a new channel focused on home improvement called Home.Made.Nation.

And while Samsung already offers several local and national news channels, including ABC News Live, CBS News, NBC News Now and others, Samsung says it plans to expand local news and weather coverage to more areas of the US. It also wants to double its video-on-demand library in 2023, leveraging “new and expanded partnerships” with Lionsgate, Vice Media and others.

First launched in 2015, Samsung TV Plus has been around for quite some time. The service is installed on TVs released in 2016 or later, Galaxy devices and select Family Hub refrigerator models. Samsung even launched TV Plus on the network last year, making its free channels available to anyone without a compatible Samsung device. Samsung currently offers 220 channels in the US, as well as a total of 1,600 channels spread across 24 different countries.

Samsung says TV Plus has seen 100% growth in consumer viewing over the past 12 months, with viewers watching 3 billion hours globally. The overall free ad-supported TV (FAST) streaming industry, which includes contenders such as Paramount’s Pluto TV, NBC’s Peacock, Fox’s Tubi, Amazon Freevee (formerly IMDb Freedive and IMDb TV), Roku and Comcast’s Xumo, is on the rise, as well, filling the gap for those who may not have linear TV but don’t want to pay for a streaming service. In January, a report by data analytics group Kantar revealed that 18 percent of US households now use FAST service, a number that has doubled each year.