The Samsung TV Plus streaming platform has announced that Samsung TV and Galaxy owners in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, the U.K., and Germany can view season one of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” on-demand for free, Samsung TV Plus. 

The first season of the series will be available until August 28. The launch is designed to help promote the series prior to the launch of the second season. 

This marks the first time ever that Prime Video is making available the entire first season without a subscription, bringing the popular series to nearly 300 million screens, for free on Samsung TV Plus. The first season will also be available within Samsung TV Plus’ channel offering in select regions globally.

As the exclusive free ad-supported streaming home for season one of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”, Samsung TV Plus said that the offering will allow viewers to catch up on all the action before the new season arrives on August 29.

“We are pleased to have expanded our partnership with Prime Video to make Samsung TV Plus the only destination to watch Season One of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power for free, ahead of the Season Two premiere.  Nearly 300 million Samsung TV and Galaxy owners will have the opportunity to discover or catch-up on this hit series, while continuing to enjoy free access to one of the world’s largest offerings of live tv channels and popular titles on-demand,” explained Salek Brodsky, senior vice president & general manager of Samsung TV Plus.

“We are excited to build upon our relationship with Samsung to support The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season One sampling for their Samsung TV Plus audiences ahead of the August 29 Season Two launch on Prime Video,” added Sandhya Iyer, GM, Global 3P Devices Marketing, Amazon Prime Video. “This sampling program marks a milestone for both organizations as we bring this iconic franchise to new audiences around the globe at no additional cost. We first collaborated with Samsung back in 2022 for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series launch and have continued raising the bar together on delivering for soon-to-be and existing Tolkien fans.”

Samsung has announced that it is working with Amazon’s Prime Video to offer fans access to exclusive 8K content from the upcoming “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” series, which is set to bow on Prime Video on Sept. 2. 

As part of the collaboration, Samsung hosted an exclusive sneak-peek screening event featuring 25 minutes of content from the series’ first two episodes on its three-story LED video wall at Samsung 837 – its flagship experience center in New York City. 

Content from the series will also debut on Samsung’s LED digital screens overlooking New York City’s Times Square, London’s Piccadilly Circus, and Milan’s Piazza del Duomo.

At some as yet undisclosed time, Samsung also said it will be the first to offer “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” series content in 8K resolution through a custom trailer with exclusive scenes. The content will be available on Samsung Neo QLED 8K TVs and “The Wall” 8K Micro LED displays. 

“Collaborations such as this mark a major milestone in bringing 8K – the most premium display technology – to the forefront for viewers,” said Simon Sung, executive vice president and head of the sales & marketing team of the Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. “For the first time, fans can experience the stunning imagery of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Samsung Neo QLED 8K TVs.”

“When considering how to immerse our global fans in the world of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Samsung’s exceptional technology and screens felt like a natural fit,” said Andrew Bennett, vice president of global device partnerships at Prime Video. “Samsung’s depth, detail, and incredible passion for the series has started us on an amazing journey together – one we can’t wait for audiences to experience.”

For more details, please visit www.samsung.com.

LONDON—Traditional broadcasters will find it increasingly difficult to compete with streaming services for “super-premium” content according to one media analyst.

Tom Harrington from Enders Analysis told TVBEurope Amazon's reported $250 million deal to secure the rights to JRR Tolkien's “Lord of the Rings” will not be the last time a streaming service will win out over traditional TV.

“The traditional broadcasters are already worried in terms of these large super-premium productions because they can’t afford them on their own,” said Harrington. “They have to go into co-productions which inevitably they wouldn’t have done previously. 

“It’s somewhat difficult for them in terms of major super-premium scripted dramas like this because most broadcasters have to provide 24 hours of entertainment across a different number of channels whereas streaming services can concentrate their not inconsiderable spend on particular projects. At the moment it does tend to be these big one-offs, but it is going to become more and more difficult for traditional broadcasters to win those auction-type arrangements for major productions.”

According to Harrington, the deal is a major win for Amazon. “In terms of video, Amazon has had a bad few months and they need a win. Amazon has been worried that they haven’t had a hit in the way Netflix has with 'Stranger Things.' So they’ve gone back to the easiest way of acquiring a hit, which is acquiring IP which has shown to be very successful in the past. A lot of people were in the market for this so Amazon has gone above and beyond to ensure they’ve got what they think will be a guaranteed winner.”

“This is a piece of IP that has shown to be successful and you can turn that into entertainment that a lot of people will like. That’s a lot different to developing your own stuff and being able to take all the credit for it. It’s still viable, it's just a more expensive way of creating content.”

According to reports, Amazon has paid $250 million for the rights—said to be one of the biggest TV rights deals ever. Amazon has already given the go-ahead for a multi-season series set before the events of “The Fellowship of the Ring.” It's thought the deal will also allow the streamer to create a potential spin-off series.

The series will be produced by Amazon Studios in cooperation with the Tolkien Estate and Trust; HarperCollins; and New Line Cinema, a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment.

This story originally appeared on TVT's sister publication TVB Europe.