Inferior Service for IRELAND's Samsung TV Customers

[AwaitYourReply]

I do not understand why owners of Samsung TV Sets across the Republic of Ireland get very little choice on the integrated "Samsung TV Plus". We purchased our latest Samsung TV model during 2023 and I'm very disappointed by it altogether. It would appear that Samsung TV Plus is far better if you are living in the United Kingdom but there is no Irish relevant content on the internet streaming tv service. Any new channel additions that have launched recently on Samsung TV Plus always seem to bypass Ireland. Nothing seems to change or get added which suggests that Ireland is only getting an inferior offering. I have not found Sky Mix and/or Challenge tv channels nor any of the UKTV network channels added some time ago. Neither have I found the NBC News Now channel or CNN FAST channel and so on etc;

Does Samsung have any intention of looking after it's customer base across the length and breadth of Ireland in the same way it does for other countries such as the UK and beyond?

Irish customers deserve a much better Samsung TV Plus experience and not just the bare minimum token service that is currently on offer. Who wants to watch a campfire burning channel on tv each day? I think Samsung Ireland should actively approach the other  main tv broadcasters in Ireland (i.e.) Virgin Media Television and TG4 so that more online catch-up tv and on-demand services namely; Virgin Media Player and TG4 Player are both also integrated and/or added to the Samsung TV service in a similar way that the RTÉ Player is on there. Right now it is too complicated and messy to watch Virgin Media Television on catch-up or on demand via a Samsung TV in Ireland.

If Samsung Ireland really wants to drive sales of it's new tv equipment, it really needs to develop a much better service offering for all of it's customers across Ireland as it is currently not a very attractive sales proposition with it's inferior Samsung TV Plus channel line-up with a lot of obscure or irrelevant content and a notable absence of Virgin Media Player and TG4 Player.

I could not recommend Samsung TV to family & friends based on it's current limitations and I will probably not purchase any new Samsung Television models based on the current inferior service available in Ireland based on my experience to date. I won't be getting rid of my exisiting Free-To-Air digital satellite tv system just yet due to a serious lack of choice offered by Samsung TV Plus in Ireland.

Samsung TV needs to do a lot better for it's customers in the Republic of IRELAND or it risks losing customers and a dip in sales. 

[John T]

Samsung tv plus is not very good in Ireland,

AMERICAN AND THE UK  seem to have way more New TV channels,

We need to keep getting new ones it's getting boring now.

Although it's good to have Access to it in the first place .u just feel it really needs a channel update. Much More comedy also.

Like , 

Etc ,

Fools and horses stuff like that. 

Samsung tvplus has gotten sily in Ireland. 

[JAMES4578]

Hi @AwaitYourReply  Thanks for your input, the Tv Plus content varies acceding to location,  Know that the Ireland offerings are not as extensive as in the Uk  but hopefully the quantity and variety will change in the future.  https://www.trustedreviews.com/explainer/what-is-samsung-tv-plus- 

I actually do not think that the TV plus platform is the main selling point of Samsung Tv's.

[AwaitYourReply]

I only discovered after I had updated by Samsung TV during 2023 that the Samsung TV Plus offering does indeed vary depending on country. My previous Samsung TV had served me very well but was from the pre-Samsung TV Plus era.

I think it is unlikely that the Samsung TV Plus will be formally launched in the Irish market at this stage as nothing about it's offering reflects an Irish dimension in it's line-up and I suspect that if Samsung was concerned about using it as an additional sales/marketing tool it would have been expanding the line-up of channels in Ireland too but this has not been the case since I upgraded about 5-6 months ago while there were numerous announcements and channel additions made to Samsung TV Plus in the neighbouring UK market during the same 5-6 months period.

It does not help viewers in Ireland when articles on Samsung TV Plus are published in "The Irish Sun" most recent online edition dated 21/11/2023 telling you that the British can now expect to receive seven new channels this week. Why this story was carried in it's Irish paper seems pointless when it's targeted at Irish readers who cannot receive these channels in this way.

https://www.thesun.ie/tech/11717821/samsung-tv-free-upgrade-extra-channels/

https://www.thesun.ie/tech/10441946/free-smart-tv-channels-samsung-lg/

Gosh, the sound settings on my current Samsung TV Set model are also disappointing no matter what way I try to adjust the sound setting but I'm not going away purchasing separate add-ons or soundbar equipment as other demands on my budget.

I was also rather disappointed that while Samsung TV made provision for the RTÉ Player but unfortunately not for the other TV Players from the other main broadcasting networks in Ireland namely; Virgin Media Television with it's Virgin Media Player and TG4 with it's TG4 Player. 

[JAMES4578]

Yes I can see there are some issues but hopefully the TV impressive enough in other areas. Some newspapers are really not that reliable mind you. 🙂

[AwaitYourReply]

I share similar concerns with you in relation to Samsung TV Plus and the lack of channels currently offered to customers of Samsung TV products across Ireland.

I also find it annoying that you do not even gain access to the Virgin Media Television Player (formerly TV3 Player) or TG4 Player unlike the RTÉ Player which is available to view

[Members_hd4Bibj]

It's like Ireland is always last for everything,  they can't keep using this bull Conversation oh it's to do with  license. How come the rest of the world is always able to get all this channels. 

Like It's the same silly 10 stations all the time we can only few . I would rate the whole system five out of ten.

[AwaitYourReply]

I think you have raised a good point there alright. Ireland is not deemed essential or worthwhile for expanding  Samsung TV Plus to suit audiences in the Republic of Ireland. All of the recent channels added for UK based viewers of Samsung TV Plus only reminds viewers in Ireland how much they are ignored and disregarded for their customer loyalty after buying Samsung TV products.

The omission or failure to secure Virgin Media TV Player and TG4 Player alongside RTÉ Player is also very disappointing from Samsung TV with online streaming becoming more the norm nowadays.

[PaulM1]

Hi, @AwaitYourReply.

Further to my reply when you reached out to us via the @Sam_UK inbox, I relayed your feedback to our Product Specialists. Your feedback is very much appreciated and has been conveyed to the relevant team.

I am posting this here, so that other Community users will have clarity about Samsung's current position on this.

The information I have received is "The availability of channels and applications is related to content licencing and commercial agreements which vary by region..."

I don't have any specifics to impart about the licencing and commercial agreements. However, there will certainly be some restrictions in place at this juncture and I don't know when or if these can be overcome. 

[PaulM1]

Hi, @John T. Thanks for your feedback as well. Just to let you know that I have merged two separate threads, as it will make it easier for other people to find this information and, if necessary, contribute to the discussion.