Samsung just dropped a quiet bombshell in streaming | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

Samsung is busy. But this time it’s not a new phone or tablet that is making waves. Instead, Samsung is diligently rewriting the rules for streaming. Yes, you heard that right. Not Netflix (NFLX) or Amazon (AMZN), but Samsung, the tech giant, just revealed that Samsung TV Plus, its free ad-supported streaming service, now boasts more than 100 million active users globally.

But for investors, the real story isn’t the programs; it’s the Samsung TV Plus platform,according to a company announcement.

Samsung says its FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) service just delivered something spectacular, despite immense competition, a 25% year-over-year surge in streaming hours. That kind of usage spike isn’t just a feather in the cap, a token statistic Samsung can tout at an earnings conference.

Instead, Samsung can use the momentum as a launchpad for a high-margin media business that will exploit low-margin screens.

Wall Street missed what’s happening in your living room.

Photo by Xinhua News Agency on Getty Images

Ad margins hiding in plain sight

For Samsung, the slate of milestones backs its case:

Embedded on all Samsung TVs, phones, and tablets
100 million monthly active users
25% YoY growth in streaming hours
4,300+ channels across 30 countries

What is most impressive, from my perspective, is that 92% of users stick around after three months, according to Samsung. Advertisers seeking to innovate and justify increased connected-TV budgets will find this music to their ears.

In my years covering streaming, I have never seen this level of engagement. Samsung’s TVs, in effect, are like real estate; when you own it, you hold the entry point to ad dollars.

Hardware meets high-margin software

Why does Samsung’s pivot matter so much? Anyone in the TV business will tell you it’s a tough hardware business. Margins are tight, and competition is brutal; it doesn’t matter if you are Samsung or Apple.

But once a TV is sold, streaming gives Samsung a recurring revenue stream with significantly better economics; that is the key to why Samsung can do well by exploiting this vertical.

Put simply:

More devices mean more TV Plus users by default.
More users translate to more ad impressions and more leverage with content partners.
And finally, more engagement means better data, targeting, and monetization.

I also find it fascinating that Samsung is tinkering with interactive content, like a Jonas Brothers livestream with a “FanVote” feature, to keep users hooked. Netflix, the biggest streaming company in the world, is now, as of 2025-2026, using interactivity and AI-powered tools to create concepts such as Bandersnatch.

Samsung seems clear. The tech giant does not want to sell a device; it wants a relationship.

Roku’s pure-play model under pressure

Now, what does it mean for Roku (ROKU), the dominant public-market player in connected-TV advertising? Well, in a word, trouble.

More Streaming:

Roku recently said its platform reaches 90 million households, but there is a catch. Samsung pre-installs its software on millions of screens, while Roku must negotiate for placement.

Some of the pressure points for Roku and others:

OEM-owned platforms (like Samsung) offer built-in distribution advantages, giving them an edge.
Longer session times on FAST platforms support higher ad yields.
Premium content partnerships and interactivity are becoming differentiators.

Roku remains in the fight, but it’s clear that hardware-linked ecosystems may have the edge going forward, something Roku stockholders need to take into account.

Retail media’s living-room invasion

The Walmart-Vizio deal builds on my thesis. Walmart paid $2.3 billion for Vizio and its SmartCast OSin a move that wants you to know one thing: Walmart wants the last mile, the living room screen.

Walmart starts with customers who want to own the TV experience. Samsung, by contrast, starts with the screen and wants to own the advertising path; what a key, yet beautiful, difference.

However, at the end of the day, what does it mean for investors? Retail media thrives on “closed-loop” systems that connect ads to actual sales. TV OS platforms bring in viewership, dwell time, and shoppable integration, three ingredients that make CTV an irresistible surface for marketers. Will that mean something for Samsung stock investors? It will.

Amazon’s role: tighter packaging, more pressure

Even Amazon is combining free-streaming efforts, rolling Freevee into Prime Video and limiting its standalone footprint, reflecting a broader trend.

Having Daredevil, Money Heist, and Narcos on the platform does not help under these circumstances.

Instead, the winners in FAST won’t necessarily have the best shows; they’ll have the best integration of ad stack, platform reach, and retail proximity.

Key metrics that Samsung stock investors need to watch:

Samsung TV Plus is heating up. There is no denying this. But as it scales up, here are the figures that matter most to Wall Street:

MAUs and total watch hours are a great gauge for growth and engagement.
Retention and session depth is the key to pricing power in ad sales.
CTV ad innovation: interactive features, targeting, attribution.
Retail media links: ability to track ads to sales (Walmart/Vizio thesis).
Cost discipline: balancing platform investment vs. monetization potential.

Samsung’s TV Plus isn’t just growing; it’s already monetizing. The recent disclosure did not give a dollar amount. But analysts estimate the revenue for its streaming unit can help make an additional $1 billion in annual ad revenue by 2026 if current engagement trends hold.

So, the bottom line is this: keep an eye on Samsung’s next earnings call, on Jan 28. If there is fresh data regarding streaming monetization or ad spend per user, you could have your next catalyst for Samsung.