Amazon is making a major push to attract more viewers to “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” ahead of the big-budget series' second season premiere by offering the first season for free on Samsung devices.
Starting 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. Season 1 will be available from August 15 to 28, ahead of the premiere of Season 2 of “Rings of Power” on August 29 on Amazon’s Prime Video paid streaming platform.
This marks the first time that the entire first season of “Rings of Power,” which aired from September to October 2022, will be available to stream for free.
The goal here for Amazon is to attract as many viewers as possible to the JRR Tolkien-inspired adaptation — with Samsung TV Plus providing 300 million screens in the US, Canada, Brazil, the UK and Germany with access to the show — to boost the audience for season two.
The first season of “Rings of Power” entered a pop culture battle for viewers with the arrival of “House of the Dragon” on HBO in 2022. This time around, however, the fantasy series doesn’t face a direct competitor, as “House of the Dragon” just wrapped its second season and the fall TV lineup is largely open, and “Rings of Power” has a chance to attract new fans with a fresh wave of marketing.
“We are thrilled to expand our partnership with Prime Video to make Samsung TV Plus the only destination to watch Season 1 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power for free, ahead of the Season 2 premiere,” said Salik Brodsky, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Samsung TV Plus. “Nearly 300 million Samsung TV and Galaxy owners will have the opportunity to discover or catch up on this hit series, while still enjoying free access to one of the world’s largest offerings of live TV channels and popular on-demand titles.”
“We are excited to build on our relationship with Samsung to support sampling of Season 1 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power for SamsungTV Plus audiences ahead of the launch of Season 2 on Prime Video on August 29,” said Sandhya Iyer, General Manager, Global 3P Device Marketing, Amazon Prime Video. “This sampling program marks a milestone for both organizations as we bring this popular franchise to new audiences around the world at no additional cost. We first partnered with Samsung in 2022 to launch The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and have continued to raise the bar together to deliver something new for current and future Tolkien fans.”
