NBCUniversal has expanded its partnership with LG, agreeing to launch over 40 FAST channels on the Korean consumer electronics giant’s smart TVs in the U.S.
The deal includes a robust selection of NBCU entertainment, news, sports, Spanish-language and true-crime programming. It also features the involvement of e-commerce components including NBCU’s Checkout and LG’s webOS pay.
LG Channels offers more than 350 free linear and on-demand ad-supported FAST channels and says its FAST app, offered through the LG TVOS software (webOS) on its smart TVs, is consistently ranked as a top-five app in all the regions globally in which it’s available. LG ranks as the third largest seller of smart TVs in North America behind Samsung and TCL.
For its part, NBCU’s Global TV Distribution unit has entered into content licensing arrangements with LG before, including one last fall for the enduring USA Network hit legal comedy-drama Suits.
Through this far bigger content deal, NBCU hopes to utilize the commerce functionality of webOS, enabling “shoppable experiences, ad innovations and purchasing technology.”
Commerce is teed up in the future, with the companies saying LG TV users with pay TV subscriptions will be able to watch current NBCU content on linear, including Bravo’s Below Deck series “and shop directly within the LG experience on-screen with plans to offer additional content.”
Combining NBCU’s Checkout and LG’s webOS pay feature, the joint NBCU/LG statement says, “viewers can utilize their LG remote to easily explore different products inspired by the content and easily make a purchase through their mobile device or directly on their TV …”
NBCU has injected shoppable features in content before, including on select episodes of Bravo series on the Peacock SVOD.
Noted Bruce Casino, executive VP of domestic sales and distribution for NBCU division: “Following our recent deal with LG for the hit series Suits, we are thrilled to expand upon our relationship with them through the launch of these FAST channels. Now, LG Channels viewers will have access to the very best of NBCUniversal’s unrivaled content library. Whether it’s hugely popular classics like Little House on the Prairie, iconic comedies like Will & Grace, or legendary films from Universal Pictures, there’s truly something for everyone.”
Here are the NBCU FAST channels joining LG Channels:
Entertainment channels:
Alfred Hitchcock Presents (loop of the horror anthology series that ran on NBC from 1955-62)
American Ninja Warrior (in our 11th hour of nonstop binging you’ll suddenly remember that NBCU once had a network called G4)
Bad Girls Club (taking a shot every time someone from the Oxygen series says the “B” word is simply unsustainable for anyone, regardless of their alcohol tolerance)
NBC Comedy Vault (features iconic NBC series including Will & Grace)
Little House on the Prairie (frontier life was brutal, but Michael Landon’s hair was usually perfect)
Murder, She Wrote (with 264 episodes in the can of this Angela Lansbury crime-series classic, work, friends and spouses might not find you for 11 days)
Saved By the Bell
Universal Action (studio-owned series including Magnum P.I., Knight Rider and The A-Team)
Universal Crime (series including Columbo, Kojak and The Rockford Files)
Universal Monsters (classic Universal horror films including Frankenstein and Dracula)
Universal Movies (an assortment of Universal film classics)
Bravo Vault (includes Shahs of Sunset and Flipping Out, among other Bravo network series)
E! Keeping Up (all Kardashians, all the time)
Million Dollar Listing Vault (an endless loop of high-end real estate, courtesy of Bravo)
Oxygen True Crime Archives (a non-stop thrill ride of true-life whodunnits)
Real Housewives Vault (binge 24 nonstop hours on this Bravo reality staple and your blood type really will turn into pinot grigio)
SNL Vault (50 years of Saturday Night Live in one FAST channel)
Top Chef Vault (another Bravo meal stripped of a beginning and its end)
Sports channels:
GolfPass (features lessons from the game’s biggest instructors, exclusive series, Golf Channel news and features, and more)
NBC Sports NOW (features sports talk with Dan Patrick, Mike Florio, Dan Le Batard and more, plus live events and highlights)
News Channels:
American Crimes (features true-crime shows including American Greed and Lockup)
Dateline 24/7 (all Dateline, all the time)
Today All Day (four hours of the Today show every weekday starting at 11am ET plus show exclusives, original food shows, celebrity interviews, health, wellness and more)
NBC New York News (the latest local news, breaking updates, live events & weather in the tristate area)
NBC Los Angeles News
NBC Chicago News
NBC Philadelphia News
NBC South Florida News
NBC Boston News
NBC Connecticut News
NBC Washington, DC News
NBC Dallas Fort Worth News
NBC San Diego News
NBC Bay Area News
NBC News NOW
Spanish-language channels:
Telemundo Noticias California (the latest local news, breaking updates, live events & weather in California.
Telemundo Noticias Texas
Telemundo Noticias Florida
Telemundo Noticias Noreste
Telemundo Accion (recent fan favorites and the best hits from Telemundo)
Historias de Amor (romantic comedies and emotionally charged dramatic sagas of love and revenge)
Telemundo al Dia (news source for the Hispanic community in the U.S.)