Roku and Samsung have struck a deal that allows users of Samsung’s phones, tablets and smart TVs to watch live sports programming from the Roku Sports Channel through Samsung’s ad-supported platforms Samsung TV Plus, The Desk has learned.
The addition of the Roku Sports Channel to Samsung TV Plus allows sports fans to watch live athletic events from Major League Baseball (MLB) Sunday lead-off games, Formula E races, the X Games and others, along with shoulder programming like “The Rich Eisen Show” and “Good Morning Football: Overtime,” which have been exclusive to Roku’s own streaming service, The Roku Channel.
It marks the first time the Roku Sports Channel has been offered on a non-Roku platform or app since the channel launched last August.
Samsung’s smart TVs have long had access to Roku programming via the Roku Channel app, which is available to download from their app store. But the integration of the Roku Sports Channel into Samsung TV Plus makes the sports channel instantly available the moment most Samsung TV users turn on their devices. Samsung says it has 88 million users of Samsung TV Plus around the world, and more than 700 channels of content in the United States.
The addition of the Roku Sports Channel comes at a time when Samsung is focused on increasing the amount of linear sports content available on its platform. In addition to the Roku-owned channel, Samsung also added Victory Plus Anaheim and Victory Plus Dallas to Samsung TV Plus, which will activate on the platform when a Samsung phone, tablet or smart TV detects that a user is in the local broadcast area for the Anaheim Ducks or the Dallas Stars hockey teams.
The new channels join more than 50 sports-inclusive feeds on Samsung TV Plus, including NFL Channel, NASCAR, PBR RidePass, FIFA Plus, MLB Channel, Formula 1 Channel, UFC, T2, Women’s Sports Network, Pickleball TV, CBS Sports HQ, NBC Sports Now, Fox Sports, Ion Network, DraftKings Network and FanDuel TV Extra.
“We’re tearing down the paywalls that have kept fans from the sports they love,” Salek Brodsky, the Senior Vice President and Global Head of Samsung TV Plus, said in a statement this week. “By teaming up with top leagues and bringing live games and iconic moments to our platform, we’re giving every fan a front-row seat.”
