NEW ID, a digital platform business subsidiary of movie distributor Next Entertainment World, announced on Wednesday that it has launched seven additional channels on Samsung TV Plus for viewers in Korea.

Samsung TV Plus is a free OTT platform pre-installed on Samsung’s Smart TV operating systems. The platform is available in 12 different countries, and this year Samsung aims to double the number of countries the service is available.

Different from OTT platforms like Netflix that provide video-on-demand, the contents on the Samsung platform are grouped and curated by channel, providing viewers an experience that is similar to watching cable TV. The difference is that all of the channels are provided free of charge without having to install any additional devices.

With the new channels, NEW ID is now the operator of a total of 13 channels on this platform in Korea, six of which were launched at the end of January.

In Korea, these new channels can be watched by accessing the Samsung TV Plus‘ app, which is pre-installed in all 2016 to 2021 Samsung Smart TV models.

NEW ID added that it also provides several Korean channels on Samsung’s platform in North America.

“In cooperation with Samsung Electronics and content partners, we are expanding this OTT service in Korea together. This type of platform is already being used by more than half of North American households,” NEW ID CEO June Park said in a statement.

New ID added that Samsung’s platform will be able to grow further globally as its platform can complement the viewing experience for subscription-based OTT services like Netflix by fulfilling demands for instant access to news, sports, entertainment, and more.

The seven new channels include ch.Pinkfong, which streams entertainment company SmartStudy’s animated series “Pinkfong” and “Pinkfong Baby Shark” and Tasty Guys, which streams Korean mukbang variety show “Delicious Guys.”

Meanwhile, LG also has its similar channel-based OTT service provided on LG’s smart TVs, called “LG Channel,” which provides more than 100 channels here.

By Song Seung-hyun (ssh@heraldcorp.com)