Amazon is making a big attempt to pull in more viewers for “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” ahead of the big-budget series Season 2 premiere by offering the first season up for free on Samsung devices.
Beginning today, the eight-episode first season of “Rings of Power” will stream on Samsung TV Plus, a free, ad-supported streaming platform that comes pre-installed on Samsung TVs and Galaxy devices. The first season will be available Aug, 15-28, just ahead of the Aug. 29 premiere of “Rings of Power” Season 2 on Amazon’s paid streamer Prime Video.
The offer marks the first time the entire first season of “Rings of Power,” which aired September-October 2022, will be available to stream for free.
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The goal here for Amazon is to get as many eyeballs on the J.R.R. Tolkien-inspired adaptation as possible — with Samsung TV Plus giving 300 million screens in the US, Canada, Brazil, the UK and Germany access to the show — to boost the audience for Season 2.
“Rings of Power” Season 1 was put into a pop-culture battle for viewers with HBO’s “House of the Dragon” debut back in 2022. However this time around, the fantasy series is not pitted against a direct competitor, as “House of the Dragon” has just concluded its second season and the fall TV lineup is largely open and the “Rings of Power” has a chance to bring in new fans with a fresh wave of marketing.
“We are pleased to have expanded our partnership with Prime Video to make Samsung TV Plus the only destination to watch Season One of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power for free, ahead of the Season Two premiere,” Samsung TV Plus senior vice president and general manager Salek Brodsky said. “Nearly 300 million Samsung TV and Galaxy owners will have the opportunity to discover or catch-up on this hit series, while continuing to enjoy free access to one of the world’s largest offerings of live tv channels and popular titles on-demand.”
Amazon Prime Video general manager of global 3P devices marketing Sandhya Iyer added: “We are excited to build upon our relationship with Samsung to support The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season One sampling for their SamsungTV Plus audiences ahead of the August 29 Season Two launch on Prime Video. This sampling program marks a milestone for both organizations as we bring this iconic franchise to new audiences around the globe at no additional cost. We first collaborated with Samsung back in 2022 for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series launch and have continued raising the bar together on delivering for soon-to-be and existing Tolkien fans.”
