Owners of the best LG TVs in the UK will receive nine new free streaming TV channels on their sets as part of a deal between the manufacturer and NBCUniversal, and the ‘LG 1′ flagship channel is immediately getting a load of new shows. The extra channels will bring a mix of fantasy and reality, live action and animation, and you won’t need to pay a penny because the channels are all part of LG’s expanding FAST (Free Ad-Supported Television) package.
The new channels are pretty eclectic, delivering gritty cop drama New York Undercover and the dystopian sci-fi show 12 Monkeys, based on the Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt movie of the same name, alongside classic comedy drama Northern Exposure, cult classic Quantum Leap, and the Stephen Spielberg-produced seaQuest. That’s an award-winning series following the underwater adventures of a team who police Earth’s undersea colonies.
Viewers will also be able to watch Real Housewives, Top Chef and Million Dollar Listing. And there are some fun inclusions for fantasy fans too, especially animated fantasy.
LG has the power
Some of the most fun shows here are animated: there’s Voltron, She-Ra: Princess of Power and He-Man & Masters of the Universe. You’ll also be able to stream the live-action sci-fi series Bionic Woman and Sliders.
The shows aren’t the only story here. This is the first time LG and NBCU have teamed up in Europe, and the deal represents the beginning of an ongoing partnership. NBCU’s catalog is massive: the firm is responsible for licensing shows from Sky Studios, DreamWorks Animation, Universal Pictures and many more, with a library of over 6,500 movies and 170,000 TV episodes. It also has locally produced content from worldwide networks. There could be considerably more shows to come.
FAST channels are growing rapidly worldwide. Here in the UK we’ve just seen the launch of Tubi, and many of the big players have FAST services. In the US, Nielsen reports that FAST channels account for 4.1% of the entire TV viewership market. That means FAST is bigger than Hulu and Prime Video, and really it’s just getting started, as deals like LG’s show.
The value of FAST channels isn’t hard to spot: they’re free. And with streaming getting ever more expensive, that’s increasingly compelling for people who want something to watch but don’t want to spend lots of money on a subscription. The likes of LG and Samsung are building out their own unique FAST options in the hope that it’ll persuade you to buy, or stick with, their TVs over the the competition. You’re not going to get the likes of Severance season 2 on FAST any time soon, but with literally decades of shows to watch, there are plenty of other shows and movies to enjoy for free.