Verizon and Samsung Electronics America Inc. announced on Thursday (Jan. 12) that Samsung will be the first consumer electronics manufacturer to commercially introduce the Verizon FiOS TV App to its line of Smart TVs and Smart Blu-ray Players in 2012.

The app will allow Verizon FiOS TV subscribers to instantly access 26 live TV channels, including HD channels, directly through the subscribers' connected Samsung Smart TV or Smart Blu-ray Player. No additional hardware is required. Users will also have access to more than 10,000 video-on-demand titles available through Verizon Flex View - the company's anytime, anywhere on-demand entertainment service for TVs, PCs, tablets and smartphones.

"Our companies are squarely focused on two objectives: adding tangible value and excitement to our customers' entertainment experience," said Eric Anderson, vice president of content and product solutions, Samsung Electronics America. "By combining our respective capabilities and technologies, we are advancing our goals to transform entertainment throughout the home."

Eric Bruno, vice president of consumer product management for Verizon, said: "This collaboration with Samsung is the latest example of Verizon's commitment to creating innovative solutions to simplify and enrich our customers' everyday lives. Working with industry leaders like Samsung, we are putting the power of technology in our customers' hands to enable the borderless lifestyle - to make everything our customers want or need to do simpler, easier and more convenient."