Samsung Electronics will exclusively release an original documentary series produced by and featuring Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves through the ad-supported free streaming service "Samsung TV Plus."
Samsung Electronics has held the top spot in the global TV market for 20 consecutive years, but its position has been shaken recently by price offensives from Chinese companies. In response, it is focusing on strengthening competitiveness and creating new revenue sources through content, advertising, and artificial intelligence (AI) services. In particular, it has recently been segmenting content by region, generation, and field to keep users within its own ecosystem.
According to Samsung Electronics on the 22nd, the six-part documentary series "Hooligans: The ARCH Racing Project with Keanu Reeves & Gard Hollinger" will be released exclusively on Samsung TV Plus in the United States. Starting on the 12th of next month, a new episode will be released every Sunday on Samsung TV Network (STN), Samsung TV Plus's own flagship channel. It is the first original documentary series Samsung TV Plus is presenting under the "Exclusives" banner.
◇ Keanu Reeves doc gets U.S.-only release… targeting motorsports fans
The series follows ARCH Motorcycle, co-founded by Keanu Reeves and Gard Hollinger, as it takes on MotoAmerica, a U.S. motorcycle road racing championship. The two also served as executive producers. V10 Entertainment handled production.
Samsung Electronics expects the exclusive release to keep motorsports fans on its platform. Samsung TV Plus recently launched a separate MotoAmerica TV channel. The channel offers more than 200 hours of MotoAmerica race content and live broadcasts of the Super Hooligan National Championship, as well as replays, qualifying and practice sessions, and behind-the-scenes videos.
A content industry source said of the exclusive release of the Hooligans doc, "The strategy is to first open a genre channel and then add killer content that fits it exclusively to increase viewer time on the platform," adding, "Users who watch the Keanu Reeves doc move to the MotoAmerica TV channel, and then are led to consume related race videos and live events."
Samsung Electronics will release the content only in the United States. North America is considered a key market because demand for large and premium TVs is high and ad rates are strong. It is also a region where Chinese makers such as Hisense and TCL are rapidly gaining ground with mini LED TVs. An electronics industry source said, "Samsung Electronics is trying to increase time spent on TV Plus with content tailored to the interests and consumption patterns of U.S. users and defend the platform's influence."
◇ 'No. 1 in TV for 20 years' wobbles… burden of defending share amid China's chase
According to market researcher Omdia, Samsung Electronics recorded a 31.3% revenue share in the global TV market in the first quarter of this year. It ranked first, far ahead of LG Electronics (14.8%), TCL (13.3%), and Hisense (10.6%). However, in shipment terms, Chinese companies are clearly catching up. According to market researcher Counterpoint Research, Samsung Electronics' global TV shipment share in the first quarter was 16.8%, while TCL's was 14.1%. The gap between the two narrowed from 4.1 percentage points in the first quarter of last year to 2.7 percentage points in the first quarter of this year.
The premium market is not stable either. According to Counterpoint Research, in the North American mini LED TV market, Samsung Electronics led the first quarter of this year with a 40% share, ahead of Hisense (27%). But on a full-year basis last year, Hisense overtook Samsung Electronics, 32% to 31%. As competition with Chinese companies intensifies even in regions like North America and Europe where higher profitability can be expected, some interpret that Samsung Electronics has accelerated a content-based differentiation strategy.
Samsung Electronics discloses results by grouping the Visual Display Business (VD), which handles TVs, with the Digital Appliances Business (DA). In the VD and DA institutional sector, first-quarter revenue this year was 14.3 trillion won and operating profit was 200 billion won. It swung to a profit from a 600 billion won loss in the fourth quarter of last year, but it was lower than 300 billion won in the first quarter of last year. VD revenue was 7.7 trillion won, down 0.4% from a year earlier. Compared with the previous quarter, it fell 12%.
The annual results were worse. In the VD and DA institutional sector, last year's revenue was 57.3 trillion won with an operating loss of 200 billion won. In 2024, the same sector posted a 1.7 trillion won profit, but it returned to a loss in a year. In particular, in the fourth quarter of last year alone, the sector recorded a 600 billion won loss.
The problem is that a rebound will not be easy. Hana Securities projected that Samsung Electronics' VD and DA institutional sector would post essentially zero operating profit in the second quarter of this year. It expected losses of 100 billion won and 600 billion won in the third and fourth quarters, respectively. BNK Investment & Securities forecast that, on a standalone VD basis, this year's annual revenue would be 32.861 trillion won with an operating loss of 19 billion won. Next year, it projected VD revenue would fall to 31.626 trillion won and the operating loss would widen to 163 billion won.
◇ TV Plus tops 100 million MAUs… "A model that keeps making money from products already sold"
Samsung TV Plus is considered a key service that Samsung Electronics is building to break through this structural crisis. Even if TV unit sales stagnate, it can generate advertising revenue based on the Samsung TVs already in the market.
The service launched in 2015 as a free channel service preloaded on Samsung smart TVs. Even before the concept of ad-supported free streaming spread in earnest, it allowed Samsung TV users to watch content without separate sign-ups or payments.
Samsung TV Plus's monthly active users (MAUs) surpassed 100 million early this year. It now offers more than 4,300 ad-supported free channels and about 66,000 pieces of video on demand (VOD) in 30 countries worldwide. It is growing beyond a simple TV add-on to a global media platform with influence.
Samsung Electronics is also steadily strengthening Samsung TV Plus's content competitiveness. Last year, in collaboration with SM Entertainment, it exclusively broadcast "SMTOWN LIVE 2025 in L.A." live. This year, it introduced the "Monthly SM Concert." The move is seen as an attempt to keep the global K-pop fandom as Samsung TV Plus users.
News and archive content have also been reinforced. Samsung TV Plus became the first domestic FAST platform to schedule 24-hour terrestrial news channels such as KBS and SBS. It expanded free channels, which had focused on variety and drama, into public news content. It is also operating an "all-in-one AI integrated channel" that restores 2000s dramas such as "Autumn in My Heart," "Success Story of a Cheerful Girl," and "Damo" to 4K quality using Generative AI.
An electronics industry source said, "Hardware sales are affected by replacement cycles, but platform businesses can generate recurring sales as viewing time increases," adding, "The longer users stay on Samsung TV Plus, the more ad impressions and content partnership opportunities arise, creating a structure to secure new revenue sources."
◇ Under Lee Won-jin, platform shift accelerates… LG Electronics also beefs up content
This shift at Samsung Electronics is also evident in management. Samsung Electronics recently replaced the head of the VD Business with President Lee Won-jin. The head of the Samsung Electronics TV division had often been someone well-versed in TV development and hardware. By contrast, Lee is considered an expert in content, services, and marketing, having served as head of Google Korea, a Google vice president, and head of Samsung Electronics' Services Business Team.
Industry watchers interpret Samsung Electronics' decision to put Lee fully in charge of the TV business as proof it has shifted its perspective from "a business of selling more TVs" to "a business of continuing to generate revenue from products already sold." In his inaugural message, Lee also assessed that the scope of competition has expanded in all directions, from Chinese brands' price competitiveness to big tech aiming for the living room with software power, and service and platform companies that occupy customers' time with powerful content.
LG Electronics is also growing its content and advertising business based on its in-house operating system, webOS. Through its own FAST service, LG Channels, it recently released the rescue-dog football variety show "LG Channels World Pub" exclusively in the U.S. market, and it expanded the free audio streaming service LG Radio Plus channel by partnering with iHeartMedia, the largest audio media company in the United States.
A researcher at a market research firm said, "TV replacement cycles are lengthening, and Chinese companies are vertically integrating panel and set production to lower prices," adding, "If Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics cut prices to the level of Chinese makers, they may protect unit sales but will find it hard to avoid margin erosion. By contrast, OS, FAST, advertising, and recommendation services can generate sales even after TVs are sold, so they are prioritizing them."
A Samsung Electronics official said, "We will continue to expand differentiated entertainment experiences for consumers based on Samsung TV Plus's unrivaled content competitiveness and technological prowess."