Shopping-oriented FAST channel Amazon Live is joining the lineup of one of the leading free streaming platforms, Samsung TV Plus.
With more than 100 million monthly active users, Samsung TV Plus leverages the strength of the Samsung smart-TV business. Samsung has the top market share among a fragmented group of manufacturers in North America.
Content on Amazon Live includes live broadcasts with fan-favorite celebrities, creators and hosts; coverage of big cultural moments, and original series including In Bed with Paige DeSorbo, Pick Your Prize, and Shopping Court. The channel also features deal segments tied to Amazon shopping events and everyday deal streams, alongside licensed lifestyle programming that matches Amazon’s key shopping categories.
One key element of the Amazon Live experience is the tech and retail giant’s “Shop the Show” mobile companion experience. Viewers who scan on-screen QR code are brought to a synchronized shoppable experience in the Amazon Shopping app, letting them browse and purchase items featured on TV in real time. They can also take part in live chats during live broadcasts without interrupting streaming on Samsung TV Plus.
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With waves of price hikes taking hold across subscription streaming, many free outlets are gaining traction with viewers, who accept ads as a tradeoff for not having to pay steep subscriber fees. (Of course, even the subscription realm is tilting toward advertising, as Netflix’s recent price hikes attest.)
The Samsung-Amazon news is the latest example of the streaming business occasionally making strange bedfellows. Amazon has recently forged deals for its demand-side platform (DSP) to be used by companies like Roku, a major rival in other business categories. At CES last January, Amazon announced 50 new streaming outlets would be made available on its Fire TV platform thanks to a new agreement with the Roku Channel.
“At Samsung TV Plus, we’re focused on creating fully immersive experiences for our viewers, and partnering with Amazon Live allows us to expand our vision on an even larger scale,” said Salek Brodsky, SVP and global head of Samsung TV Plus, in a statement. “By deepening our existing relationship with Amazon, this launch reinforces Samsung TV Plus’s content-to-commerce strategy – making it effortless for audiences to discover and purchase products the moment they appear on their Samsung TV.”
Amazon Live “believes in meeting customers at moments of inspiration, with seamless shopping experiences,” said Wayne Purboo, VP of Amazon Shopping Videos. The channel brings “live entertainment, trusted creators, and effortless Amazon shopping to the biggest screen in the home,” he added.