There aren’t really that many big players in the smart TV market, as Samsung and LG have long won the love of fans around the world. And some time ago, representatives of the South Korean company LG officially announced that now their webOS operating system is losing exclusivity – it will also be installed on third-party TVs, while previously the system was available exclusively on LG models.
Samsung, apparently, appreciated the advantage of this solution, and decided to also send Tizen OS TV to free float – for the first time in many years, the company will license the operating system to third-party manufacturers.
To date, Samsung employees have officially announced a partnership agreement with Akai, RCA and many other brands, mainly represented in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. In addition, Samsung noted that licensing the operating system opens the door for third-party companies to a host of different features developed by the market giant. For example, together with Tizen OS TV, manufacturers will be able to provide their potential customers with Samsung TV Plus, a platform for streaming television channels and videos. There will also be access to the Universal Guide recommendation system and Samsung’s Bixby voice assistant.
Samsung at the expense of partner companies wants to test the waters in the budget segment of smart TVs
Yes, at the moment Samsung does not plan to launch licensing of the operating system in its main market in the United States – they probably want to test the mechanism first in less profitable markets in order to assess the potential profit and damage. The thing is that Samsung, like LG as its main competitor, sells TVs with Tizen OS TV, preferably in the flagship expensive segment – Android TV is installed on simpler models without additional bonuses. Accordingly, this is an opportunity for the South Korean giant to receive additional funds from the budget segment of TVs, without even releasing its own models.
And, probably, if budget segment TVs with Tizen OS TV are in demand among consumers in the Australian and New Zealand markets, Samsung will also release its own line of smart TVs on this operating system. And in the event third-party TVs fail, Samsung really has nothing to lose. LG did the same by partnering with budget TV companies in less popular markets.
