Samsung TV Plus: Everything about the free streaming service

Samsung sells more TVs than any other company in the world at the moment, and as a result, there are a lot of eyeballs checking out streaming content on them. 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 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 free streaming service intended for those who own Samsung devices. It’s available in a variety of countries, but its core market is arguably the US, where it has over 350 “channels” of content to watch. It first launched in 2015 as a video rental service for Samsung TVs in the US but later switched to its current ad-supported business model.

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 user numbers. Samsung TV Plus launched for Samsung’s mobile devices in 2020, and on the web in 2021. You can also find it on some other Samsung devices, as we’ll explain in a moment.

Supported platforms

Samsung TV Plus is, of course, built primarily for the company’s smart TVs. You can find the app on Samsung sets made in 2016 or later. The mobile app is available for Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones and tablets and can be downloaded via 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. In 2022, the service came to some of Samsung’s Family Hub refrigerator screens in the US and South Korea. You can also access it on Samsung’s Smart Monitors.

Where is it available?

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

The selection of channels for the service can differ radically from country to country.

Features and user interface

Samsung TV Plus is organized like a cable or satellite TV guide. You browse through categories and channels, the latter of which are streaming content 24/7, again like cable or satellite. Some categories include news, movies, TV shows, documentaries, sports, and music.

You can also access the most recent channels you’ve viewed, and label your favorites to access them without the need for browsing. You can add specific shows and movies to a watchlist and set up reminders for when they’re available.

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

In 2024, the company announced that it loaded close to 4,000 hours of Korean shows and movies to its platform, including popular K-dramas like Beyond Evil, Dark Hole, and Taxi Driver.

Samsung TV Plus channels

As mentioned, the number of channels in the Samsung TV Plus app varies depending on where you live. For this article, we’re concentrating on the US, which has over 350 to browse and stream.

Channels are broken up into many categories. Local news is tied to the location from which you’re streaming, which is why so many channels share the same number. Those news sources include the following:

• News 12 New York — Channel 1035
• WSB Atlanta — Channel 1035
• WFTV Orlando — Channel 1035
• Fox13 Memphis — Channel 1035
• KIRO Seattle — Channel 1035
• WSOC Charlotte — Channel 1035
• WPXI Pittsburgh — Channel 1035
• Action News Jax — Channel 1035
• FOX 23 Tulsa — Channel 1035
• WHIO Dayton — Channel 1035
• WWBT NBC 12 News — Channel 1035
• WVLT News — Channel 1035
• KOLD News 13 — Channel 1035
• NBC News (Bay Area, San Diego, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Dallas Fort Worth, Connecticut, South Florida, Los Angeles, Boston) — Channel 1035
• WAVE News — Channel 1035
• ABC7 WWSB — Channel 1035
• Cleveland 19 News Plus — Channel 1035
• WWIX FOX19 News — Channel 1035
• Very Iowa — Channel 1035
• Very Maine — Channel 1035
• Very Sacramento by KCRA — Channel 1035
• Very Baltimore by WBAL-TV — Channel 1035
• Very Kansas City by KMBC/KCWE — Channel 1035
• Very Milwaukee by WISN 12 — Channel 1035
• Very Oklahoma by KOCO — Channel 1035
• Very New Mexico by KOAT — Channel 1035
• Very Pennsylvania by WGAL — Channel 1035
• Very Carolina by WXII — Channel 1035
• ABC15 Arizona — Channel 1035
• WXYZ Detroit 7 News — Channel 1035
• KMGH Denver 7+ News — Channel 1035
• WTVF 5 Nashville — Channel 1035
• FOX 13 Salt Lake — Channel 1035
• NBC New York News — Channel 1036
• Florida 24 Network — Channel 1035
• WKYT News — Channel 1035
• Hawaii News Now — Channel 1035
• 6 News WOWT — Channel 1035
• WBAY Action 2 News — Channel 1035
• Very South Florida by WPBF — Channel 1036
• Very Orlando by WESH 2 — Channel 1036
• Very Pittsburgh by WTAE — Channel 1036
• KSHB 41 Kansas City — Channel 1036
• News 5 Cleveland — Channel 1036
• WFTS Tampa Bay 1036 — Channel 1036
• Telemundo (California, Florida, Texas, Noreste) — Channel 1255
• CBS News (Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh)  — Channel 1038
• ABC7 New York — Channel 1038
• 6abc Philadelphia — Channel 1036
• CBS News Minnesota — Channel 1035
• CBS News (Colorado, Texas) — Channel 1036
• CBS News New York — Channel 1039
• WeatherNation (all cities) — Channel 1037

Entertainment and crime channels come in many forms, many being built around single shows. Some more general ones include (but aren’t limited to):

• All Action — Channel 1050
• ION — Channel 1051
• ION Plus — Channel 1052
• ION Mystery — Channel 1130
• Stories by AMC — Channel 1052
• TV Land Drama — Channel 1055
• BET Pluto TV — Channel 1058
• Magellan TV Now — Channel 1073
• Revry — Channel 1089
• Shout! Factory — Channel 1090
• Fox Soul — Channel 1104
• TV Land Sitcoms — Channel 1326
• Law and Crime — Channel 1132
• Court TV — Channel 1133

Other significant channels, such as national news, include the following:

• Vice — Channel 1086
• CBS News — Channel 1005
• ABC News Live — Channel 1007
• NBC News NOW — Channel 1008
• Bloomberg TV Plus UHD — Channel 1015
• CBC News International — Channel 1014
• IGN — Channel 1351
• PBS Kids — Channel 1376
• PBS Digital Studios — Channel 1406
• Nick Pluto TV — Channel 1379
• History and Warfare — Channel 1406
• Anime All Day — Channel 1440
• Midnight Pulp — Channel 1445
• Paramount Movie Channel — Channel 1452
• Documentary Plus — Channel 1466
• CBS Sports HQ — Channel 1152

We’ve left out a large number of items here, including most music, sports, and Latino channels, but those get into very personal niches  — chances are someone into chill electronic music isn’t going to turn on VEVO Country, for example. Also, you can’t access most major sports services, such as ESPN or Fox Sports.

Samsung TV Plus Alternatives

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

Pluto TV

Pluto TV is perhaps the best of the free streaming services that use a channel guide format. Depending on where you live, it can have a lot more content than Samsung TV Plus, including material that’s currently not available on any other free service.

Tubi TV

Tubi is best known for its on-demand movies and TV shows, including obscure titles that can be hard to find anywhere else, but it does offer live streams. Among these are over 80 different local news stations around the US, and a variety of entertainment options.

Peacock

NBCUniversal’s Peacock has a channel guide with access to NBC, CNBC, and MSNBC News programs, along with sports talk shows and more. For $7.99 a month, you can access even more movies and shows on demand. If you like you can pay $13.99 a month to get that on-demand content ad-free.

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