Samsung on Thursday said it was opening an entertainment store to bring movies and TV shows to its smartphones and upcoming Galaxy Tab tablet.
The store, called Media Hub, will offer films and TV programs for rent or purchase, said Dale Sohn, president of Samsung Telecommunications America, during a U.S. launch event for its Galaxy Tab tablet.
The Media Hub store pits the company against Apple, which offers movies, music and TV shows for purchase through its iTunes store.
With the Media Hub, consumers will be available to watch movies and TV optimized for the Galaxy devices, Sohn said. Movies and TV shows are available for purchase immediately for Galaxy S smartphones. The service will also be available for the upcoming Galaxy Tab tablet, which will be released in the next few weeks.
Consumers have been asking for entertainment on the go, Sohn said. The content available for download will include the latest films and TV episodes, available in the store as soon as the next day. Content will be streamed instantly as they are being downloaded.
The company has built a library of movies and TV shows by working with partners including MTV Networks, NBC, Universal Studios and Paramount, said Gavin Kim, vice president of content services and enterprise mobility, at the event. The company will make announcements on new partners over the next few months.
The company didn’t immediately offer details on pricing for shows and movies. Kim said the pricing would be “competitive” with other content stores in the market.
The Media Hub is Samsung’s next step in developing an application and content ecosystem that will make Samsung’s devices more attractive to customers, said Omar Khan, chief strategy officer at Samsung Mobile.
Media Hub also allows users to purchase content that can be shared separately shared with up to five devices.