New York, NY — BBC Worldwide has launched an on-demand video and text news service for owners of Samsung Smart TVs.

The web-based service for connected TV combines rich video clips and text from BBC News Online, curated round the clock by BBC editorial teams, to sit alongside the BBC’s international news services.  Users can navigate the content, pausing and re-starting video via their remote controls. The full product is available free of charge, and is accessible from within the Samsung Apps Store on Samsung’s range of Smart TVs.

The online service will be supported by advertising internationally, with Swiss watchmaker Omega as the launch advertiser.  Advertisements for the brand will run as pre-roll to the video content.

Chris Davies, Commercial Director for BBC.com at BBC Worldwide, says: “We want to make sure our services are available to our audiences as and when they want them, and that thought is very much at the heart of our strategy. Having this kind of text and video, which audiences would normally have to access via their laptops, tablets or smart-phones, available straight through people’s TVs is a very worthwhile addition to our portfolio.  Internet-connected TV is growing as a medium, and our audiences will expect us to be a part of that development.  We’re also delighted to have Omega as our launch partner.”