Samsung’s New Milk Video Service Only for Galaxy Devices

As expected, Samsung rolled out its oddly named Milk Video service, albeit with an unexpected twist—the short-form service only works with later-edition Galaxy devices—and positioned it as a free counterpart to its modestly received Milk Music streaming service kicked off last March.

The Milk Video service, which shuns advertising at this point, has as it foundation curated feeds and a social media tie-in for users to readily find and share videos making the rounds online. For now Samsung is offering Milk Video only in the United States and just on a select group of Samsung Galaxy mobile devices introduced in the last two years, including the Galaxy Note II, Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy Note Edge, Galaxy Mega, Galaxy S III, Galaxy S 4, Galaxy S 4 mini, Galaxy S III mini and Galaxy S 5 devices.

In addition to the curated video, Samsung plans to offer a limited supply of exclusive content from Condé Nast, Funny Or Die, Red Bull, Vevo, VICE and others.

“We did this first with Milk Music, and now, we extend this promise with Milk Video,” said John Pleasants, Samsung Media Solutions Center America executive vice president. “Samsung is committed to giving our customers the best software and services to enhance their device experience. We’re partnering with some of the best brands in new media to deliver great content across our consumers’ passion points: music, comedy, lifestyle and entertainment.”

Pleasant said social media will be the key to Milk Video’s growth. “Users can follow friends, brands and other users within the app,” he said. “Sharing with friends outside of the app via Facebook, Twitter or email offers another option for others to see what you’re enjoying on Milk Video whether or not they have Milk Video.”

While Samsung’s early steps confine Milk Video access to a set of its own devices, the vendor’s thinking for the service extends beyond the small screen, Kevin Swint, Samsung Content and Services vice president, told CNet and other outlets in a pre-launch briefing.

“If you think about the screens we have from big, beautiful 4K HDTVs down through tablets and smartphones and even down to our newest wearables … it becomes really important for us to focus on delivering a great services experience around really great content,” he said.

While there’s no shortages of companies producing video content for mobile users, including AOL, Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo (YHOO), Sony and others joining heavyweights Hulu and Netflix, Samsung suggested the market still is open, thanks to the 80 million people in the United States who researcher ComScore estimates view video from their mobile phone each month.