Thought upfront season was done and dusted? Samsung gave Sydney media buyers a timely reminder on Thursday morning that the “NewFronts” are far from over, and it’s a serious contender in the media game.
Samsung Ads, the advertising division of Samsung Electronics, showed off that it owns “the biggest screen in the house” by taking over the IMAX in Sydney. Against one of largest screens in Sydney, Samsung gave advertisers an expansive view of the opportunities in Connected TV, unveiled its flagship 24/7 channel and revealed that the home screen takeover can now be bought programmatically through Magnite.
Samsung Ads Newfront being held at the IMAX was a hit for media buyers.
“Samsung was pretty unapologetic about its position as one of the most trusted brands when it comes to the big screen in the household, so hosting it at IMAX was a great way to bring that to life. They couldn’t have leant into their big screen message on a bigger screen!,” This Is Flow’s chief operating officer Matt Papasavva told B&T.
Rebecca Ho, head of investment, Sydney at Starcom, added: “there was no better venue to bring Samsung’s propositions to life”.
One of the biggest announcements from the morning was that advertisers will be able to access the TV home screen inventory programmatically for the first time in Australia by the end of the year.
Powered by Magnite’s SpringServe, the capability will allow advertisers to plan, target and activate Samsung Home Screen placements through demand-side platforms and existing buying workflows. This makes it easier for agencies and brands to plan, target and activate premium TV placements at scale.
This announcement was described by Papasavva as “one of the biggest wins for agencies”.
“Being able to access the home screen takeover programmatically means we can now bring it into a broader video strategy without having to carve out separate budgets or treat it as a separate ’testing’ stream. It will make it easier to consider alongside an existing campaign and open the door for more advertisers. Probably one of the better announcements from the day,” he said.
The gravity of being able to takeover Samsung’s home screen was echoed by Ho.
“It’s significant because it brings together three things: impact, scale and flexibility,” she said. “Making a high-impact CTV placement available programmatically makes it easier to integrate into broader audience strategies, while creating more opportunity to activate and optimise with greater agility.”
To make the TV home screen even more appetising to advertisers, Samsung expanded on its formats.
As revealed on Thursday, Video Masthead will bring video directly into the Samsung TV Home Screen, giving advertisers a new way to use motion and storytelling from the moment viewers turn on their TV. And 3D Video will add another immersive creative option designed to increase visual impact and engagement. Both formats are currently in beta and will be available to advertisers in Q4.
“It’s a smart and natural evolution of an already powerful format,” added Ho.
“As discovery becomes a bigger part of the viewing experience, the CTV home screen is becoming increasingly valuable real estate in the home. Adding video and more immersive creative gives brands the opportunity to influence audiences before they’ve even decided what to watch, which changes the role of the television screen from simply delivering content to actively shaping discovery.”
Samsung also used its first ever upfront as a launchpad for its recently launched flagship channel.
Samsung’s subscription-free streaming TV service now offers more than 200 channels spanning entertainment, news and creator-led programming. Samsung TV Plus will launch Mamamia’s first 24/7 channel in early 2027. The channel will feature more than 100 hours of the publisher’s lifestyle, culture and entertainment content.
The platform is also partnering with acclaimed chef, restauranteur, author and television presenter, Luke Nguyen on his first Australian-based production, a daily cooking show filmed in food markets across Australia.
Samsung TV Plus now carries more than 10 dedicated news services and plans to expand its local, finance, entertainment, international and multilingual news and current affairs offering, with CNA International and CNA Original joining the line-up of channels later this year.
Bringing those elements together is Samsung Television Network, the flagship channel curating in-demand programming from across Samsung TV Plus into one scheduled destination, including live news, creator-led programming, themed programming blocks, live events, and specials.
The new network is designed to offer audiences a familiar structure with the flexibility of streaming, while giving advertisers consistent placements across premium content.
The investment into content creators was described as “interesting move” by Papasavva.
“It’s probably a signal of where they want to take the business. Partnering with established creators will let them open the door to play a role in the content itself, not just the device its watched on. The big question for me will be around the volume of viewers and how engaged those audiences actually are. It’s an exciting direction, but the numbers will need to back it up.” he said.
Samsung Ads also revealed a new solution that provides a unified view of total ad reach across the Samsung Smart TV ecosystem, spanning both linear TV and streaming.
Optimal Reach, currently in beta in Australia, enables advertisers to optimise campaign planning, targeting and measurement using a holistic view of TV campaign performance. The solution identifies audience duplication and unreached viewers, helping advertisers deliver incremental reach through Samsung TV Plus video and TV Home Screen advertising.
Optimal Reach has already launched in the US, Canada, the UK and Germany, and will be available to Australian advertisers in Q4.
Lower funnel solutions are expanding through Smart Outcomes, now available to advertisers in Australia. Using Samsung audience intelligence and machine learning, Smart Outcomes identifies households with a higher propensity to act and can optimise towards objectives including website visitation, website conversion and app acquisition.
“As Connected TV becomes more sophisticated, effectiveness must go hand in hand with responsible data practices. Samsung Ads is focused on helping advertisers use select audience content insights to deliver more relevant, measurable campaigns. Through Smart Outcomes, our partners can optimise campaigns towards the outcomes that matter, while offering audiences content and messaging that is relevant and valuable to them,” said Virgile Edragas, head of data and analytics for APAC at Samsung Ads.
The announcements come as Australians continue to shift how they watch television. According to Samsung Ads’ Australian viewing insights, streaming now accounts for 73 per cent of viewing time, while total viewing hours increased six per cent year-on-year.
According to Alex Spurzem, managing director of Samsung Ads across Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia, this shift is changing the role of the Connected TV to become the centre of the connected home, and an effective growth engine for advertisers.
“The new innovations we’ve shared at today’s NewFront 2026 event were built with the purpose to make Connected TV advertising experiences more impactful for our partners, and help advertisers navigate and understand the fragmented connected TV environment,” he said.
“Samsung Ads sits at the intersection of content discovery and audience intelligence, giving us unique insights into how people watch and engage with television. Our solutions are designed to help brands move beyond reach alone, delivering more effective ways to activate campaigns and clearer measurement of outcomes across the Connected TV ecosystem.”
