FilmRise, the New York City-based studio and streaming service that has built a powerful position as a key supplier of films and TV, has staked out territory with FAST operator Samsung in Europe.
Under a deal finalized Monday, FilmRise branded and single IP series channels will launch on Samsung TV Plus smart TVs and Galaxy devices in the Nordics, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain and Italy.
The new channels will be free on Samsung TV Plus. The app comes pre-installed on all Samsung smart TVs made after 2016, and can also be downloaded from the Google Play or Galaxy Store.
FilmRise hosts more than 50,000 licensed and original scripted and unscripted television shows across all genres, including Hell’s Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares, Cheaters, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and Heartland. With this deal, the studio now claims to work with every major connected TV company in the industry.
Included in the deal are channels Andromeda, Forensic Files, FilmRise Free Series, Highway to Heaven and more.
FilmRise also said it's also planning expansion into additional territories throughout international markets.
“This partnership not only marks the debut of FilmRise content on [Samsung] connected devices in this region, but also showcases the versatility of our extensive library,” explained VP of Digital Distribution and Business Development for FilmRise Daniel Gagliardi. “The breadth and depth of programming that we offer allows us to tailor content to the unique viewing preferences of different territories."
Added Jennifer Batty, head of content acquisition for Samsung TV Plus Europe: “As an early adopter of streaming and having one of the largest footprints in the industry, we were able to successfully offer the vast European audience a plethora of content that they could watch anytime for free via our FAST channels. We are looking forward to adding FilmRise’s extensive catalog of content to that slate, as well.”
