Samsung TV Plus have expanded their partnership with RTVE in Spain, launching five new FAST channels on the platform.
Originally created back in 2023 for the Public Broadcaster’s digital platform, RTVE Play, the channels host a selection of premium local content from one of Spain’s most well-known and trusted brands.
- RTVE Somos Cine has the same name as RTVE Play’s stand-alone platform, dedicated to Spanish-speaking films. The channel uses a selection of the 300 films available on the Somos Cine platform, with daily schedules featuring specific themes. Movie channels currently take up 15% of Samsung’s entire lineup in Spain, making it the single biggest category of channel genre.
- RTVE Crimen offers a diverse range of crime-related content, including both scripted and unscripted shows, drawn taken from RTVE’s extensive back catalogue. True Crime and Thriller collectively occupy 6% of all channels available on Samsung.
- RTVE Época features some of the most popular period series from RTVE’s library, with scripted drama channels are the most prevalent type of scripted TV channel on the platform (7% of the lineup).
- RTVE Docs offers a wide range of documentaries across various genres, such as science, nature, travel, history, and true crime. Notably, documentary channels occupy 5% of the total channels available on the platform.
- RTVE Saber y Ganar is a single IP channel exclusively dedicated to RTVE’s popular game show of the same name. It holds the distinction of being one of the most iconic and widely watched game shows in Spain. Notably, it is the only game show channel available live on Samsung. However, it’s worth mentioning that single IP channels only constitute 20% of channels in Spain, which falls below the average (28%).
This is not the first time RTVE has ventured into the FAST market. Retransmissions of their La 1, La 2, Teledeporte, and 24H Broadcast channels have been available on Samsung TV Plus in Spain for many years. Samsung has long identified the necessity for premium local content and the opportunity of partnering with Public Service Broadcasters (PSBs) to fill this need. They have been one of the more active platforms in launching channels from the likes of ZDF and ARD in Germany, UKTV and ITV in the UK, France Télévisions in France, Warner Bros. Discovery in Italy, and RTVE in Spain.
The PSBs provide highly valuable local content for FAST platforms and in exchange they get distribution on an emerging platform. However, the PSBs have their own adjacent digital platforms (typically available on Samsung TV sets as an App) that will compete for viewing with services like Samsung TV Plus. One of the key characteristics of the European market that sets it apart from the US - and points to a different progression for the FAST market - is the presence and strength of broadcaster platforms. It will be interesting to see how this evolves and how PSBs balance the support of their own digital platforms versus doing deals with FAST services for distribution.
Currently, working with Samsung aligns with RTVE’s strategy of distributing its content in different ways. RTVE Play is increasingly introducing pop-up channels, such as the single IP channel La Revuelta, dedicated to celebrating the popular talk show’s milestone of 100 episodes aired. Other notable examples include Canal Planeta, which commemorates World Environment Day, and a literary-themed channel, timed to coincide with the Book Fair. RTVE Play’s current FAST activity is limited to Samsung, and it will be interesting to observe how other services like LG, Rakuten, and others may follow in the future.
From Samsung’s perspective, however, this strategy seems to be yielding positive results. In the past year alone, they’ve announced 2.2 million uses in Spain and an increase in their overall viewing time by 31%.
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