Peacock Bows On Samsung Smart TVs, FuboTV On LG Sets

NBCUniversal’s Peacock has launched on Samsung smart TVs (2017 and later models), starting today.

The addition of Samsung, the leading smart-TV maker, is an important win for Peacock’s distribution, particularly coming six weeks before NBC’s huge investment in coverage of the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.

NBCU on Monday announced that it will show more than 7,000 hours of Olympics content across its networks and streaming platforms — although there is still a chance that the Olympics could be cancelled due to COVID concerns and opposition by the Japanese public, The Wall Street Journalreported this morning.

Samsung users “will now have more ways to access and enjoy the Tokyo Games,” noted Salek Brodsky, vice president of strategic partnerships and business development for Samsung Electronics, in the announcement.

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Peacock, which went national last summer, is available through Comcast’s Xfinity X1 and Flex platforms, and included free with Cox Contour service. It is also available on devices including Android and Android TV, iOS, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox One S and One X, Sony PlayStation 4 and 5, Vizio SmartCast TVs, and LG smart TVs.

However, NBCU has yet to clinch a deal for Amazon Fire TVs — a significant hole in distribution for any streaming service looking to optimize scale.

In March, Peacock’s Twitter account began suggesting a sideloading option for Fire TV users complaining about the lack of a native app, according to Deadline. The PeacockTV.com site advises readers: "At the moment, Amazon Fire TVs are not supported by Peacock, but we are in continued discussions with these and other platforms to bring Peacock to additional devices." 

In separate news, FuboTV app is now available in the U.S. on 2018 to 2021 models of LG Electronics’ webOS smart TVs.

The sports-focused live TV streaming platform was already available on Samsung smart TVs, as well as Amazon Fire TV, Android and iOS mobile and tablet apps, Chromecast, XBox One, Android TV, Apple TV, Apple’s TV app, Hisense and Roku.

According to LG, users of the FuboTV app on its smart TVs will be able to “favorite" channels and move their top selections to the front of their guides; use a "set it and forget it" feature that enables recording an entire series with one click; and record all games for a specific team with one click.

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