LG Smart TVs get Eurosport, Napster and Deezer applications

 

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Posted on 20 Dec 2012 at 09:11, by Gareth Halfacree

LG has announced a deal to bring more content to its Smart TV products, partnering with three new on-demand streaming companies to extend their streaming capabilities.

A common feature of TV sets and Blu-ray players in 2012, the Smart TV system uses the internet - typically wireless, although some sets require a physical wire to be connected between the TV and the router - to stream on-demand content. Some content requires a subscription, but much is free - and with apps from the likes of YouTube and Netflix commonly available, there's certainly plenty of choice for when there's nothing worth watching on the broadcast channels.

LG has announced that it is making even more choice available for customers with one of its 2012 Smart TV sets, partnering with Napster, Eurosport and Deezer to make additional content available over the TV sets - but it's not all about video streaming.

Eurosport is to provide LG with the Eurosport Player, a subscription-based streaming service designed to provide access to the company's sport-themed channels. Rather than being on-demand, the content will be 'simulcast' - meaning that it will be shown live on both the broadcast versions of Eurosport's channels and the Eurosport Player application.

From there, LG takes a diversion into the world of music: Napster was once synonymous with music piracy, offering peer-to-peer sharing of tracks between users. Several lawsuits later, the company went legit, and now offers a subscription-based streaming service across computers, smartphones, tablets and now LG Smart TVs. Designed to compete with the like of Spotify, Napster's subscription-based service allows a user to pay once to listen across all his or her devices.

Napster will be joined by Deezer, a free ad-supported music streaming service which recently launched in the UK after a great deal of success abroad. As with Napster, Deezer offers Android and iOS smartphone and tablet apps as well as software designed for PC and laptop use, and will be available through LG's Smart TVs following a software update.

While no firm date has been given for the launch, LG has promised that it will be making the three new streaming services available to all 2012 Smart TV users by the end of the year.