Samsung TV Plus: Everything about the free streaming service

Samsung sells more televisions than any other company in the world at the moment. As a result, there are a lot of eyeballs checking out streaming content on those TVs. A few years ago, the company decided to launch Samsung TV Plus, a free streaming service for its TVs, smartphones, and tablets. However, Samsung has expanded the service beyond its own products.

In this article, we will take a look at Samsung TV Plus, along with how you can access it, even if you don’t own a Samsung device.

What is Samsung TV Plus?

Samsung TV Plus is a streaming service with over 220 “channels” of content to watch in the US. This allows Samsung smart TV owners, along with its smartphone and tablet customers, a way to be entertained or informed for free. It first launched in 2015 as a video rental service for Samsung TVs in the US. Later it changed its business model to its current ad-supported streaming video service.

In an article for Protocol in September 2020, Samsung Electronics SVP Sang Kim stated that Samsung TV Plus was one of the five most-used apps on the company’s smart TVs and one of the top two most used free streaming apps.  Since then, the company has not offered any more info on its user numbers. Samsung TV Plus launched for Samsung’s mobile devices in 2020 and on the web in 2021. There’s no word on if it will expand to more platforms.

Supported platforms

Samsung TV Plus is, of course, available primarily for the company’s smart TVs. You can find the app on Samsung’s televisions that were made in 2016 and beyond. The mobile app is available just for Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones and tablets. You can download it on the Google Play Store or Samsung’s in-house Galaxy Store.

In May 2021, a web version of the service was launched at SamsungTvPlus.com. This allows any PC or mobile device with a browser to access it without downloading an app. Later in 2022 the service will be available on some of Samsung’s Family Hub refrigerator screens in the US and South Korea.

Where is it available?

Samsung TV Plus is currently available in 24 countries: Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, and the United States.

Keep in mind that the web version is only available, at least for now, in the US. Also, the selection of channels on the service differs from country to country.

Features and user interface

Samsung TV Plus is organized like a cable or satellite TV guide. There are channels you can browse through with many categories. These channels are streaming content 24/7, again like a broadcast or cable service. The categories include news (including live streams), movies, TV shows, documentaries, sports, music, etc.

You can also access the most recent channels you have viewed in the interface and label your favorite channels to access them without the need for any browsing. You can add specific shows and movies to a watch list and set up reminders for when they are available.

In addition to the channels, there are many movies and TV shows you can stream and watch on-demand. In 2023, the company plans to add much more on-demand content to Samsung TV Plus from studios like Lionsgate, Vice, and more.

Samsung TV Plus channels

As we mentioned, the number of channels on your Samsung TV Plus app will probably be different depending on where you live. For this article, we are concentrating on the US, which has well over 100 channels to browse and stream.

The channels are broken up into many categories. You can catch local news, tied to the location from which you’re streaming. Those channels include the following:

• NBC San Francisco News — Channel 1035
• NBC San Diego News — Channel 1035
• Fox13 Memphis — Channel 1035
• KSHB 41 Kansas City — Channel 1036
• ABC Action News Tampa Bay — Channel 1036
• WeatherNation (all cities) — Channel 1037

Entertainment and crime channels come in many forms. Several channels are built around single shows. These include the following Samsung TV Plus channels:

• Heartland — Channel 1058
• The Walking Dead Universe — Channel 1065
• 21 Jump Street — Channel 1066
• Degrassi — Channel 1067
• Dr. G: Medical Examiner — Channel 1128
• Cold Case Files — Channel 1134
• Unsolved Mysteries — Channel 1135
• Midsomer Murders — Channel 1137

Other popular channels include the following:

• USA Today — Channel 1023
• Newsmax — Channel 1027
• Ion — Channel 1051
• Shades of Black — Channel 1084
• Vice — Channel 1086
• Crime 360 — Channel 1126
• Dateline 24/7 — Channel 1138
• CBS Sports HQ — Channel 1152
• Bon Appétit — Channel 1202
• America’s Test Kitchen — Channel 1204
• BBC Home — Channel 1217
• Kitchen Nightmares — Channel 1241
• Project Runway — Channel 1243
• Dance Moms — 1250
• IGN — Channel 1351
• PBS Kids — Channel 1376
• The LEGO Channel — Channel 1385
• The Asylum — Channel 1433
• Midnight Pulp — Channel 1445
• Paramount Movie Channel — Channel 1452
• Documentary+ — Channel 1466

Samsung TV Plus Alternatives

If you own a Samsung smart TV or mobile device, you actually have many more free streaming services you can check out.

Pluto TV

Pluto TV is perhaps the best of the free streaming services that use a channel guide format. It has a lot more content than Samsung TV Plus, including content that’s currently not available on any other free service.

Tubi TV

Tubi TV is the home for live streaming news, with over 80 different local news stations around the nation that can be accessed on its channel guide. There’s also lots of entertainment and other content on its channel guide as well. You can watch lots of great movies and TV shows on demand. There’s also a small but growing number of original TV shows and movies to watch.

Peacock

NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service has a channel guide with access to NBC, CNBC, and MSNBC News programs, along with sports talk shows and much more. For $4.99 a month, you can access even more movies and shows on demand. You can also pay $9.99 a month to enjoy the service ad-free, which is something not available on Samsung TV Plus.

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