Samsung has announced several important leadership changes in its TV services division as interest in Free Ad-Supported TV (FAST) continues to grow across the Asia-Pacific region.
Key Appointments
Brigitte Slattery has been named Regional Head of Samsung TV Plus, APAC. She will be responsible for the region’s content, operations, product development, and marketing. Slattery brings years of experience from major media companies such as Network Ten, Foxtel, HBO, and NBCUniversal. She will report directly to Salek Brodsky, Senior Vice President & General Manager of Samsung TV Plus.
Samantha Cooke has been promoted to Head of Marketing & Analytics for Samsung Ads Southeast Asia and Oceania. With a background in both publishing and advertising, she will lead marketing efforts and manage data strategies to help partners grow their businesses.
Virgile Edragas will now have a wider role as Head of Data & Analytics, APAC, while Alex Smith has joined Samsung Ads after working for more than a decade at Nielsen. Smith will focus on Samsung Ads’ work with the Video Futures Collective (VFC) and other industry groups.
FAST Streaming on the Rise
Samsung also shared new data from media technology company Amagi, which shows that FAST TV usage in the Asia-Pacific region grew by more than 100% last year. This growth outpaced the rest of the world in both viewing time and advertising impressions.
Samsung TV Plus, Samsung’s free streaming service, reached 88 million monthly active users worldwide last year, with over 50% growth in viewership compared to the previous year. After expanding across Southeast Asia, the service is now available in Australia, India, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.
Why This Matters
“Ad-supported TV is growing fast and gives advertisers a great way to reach active viewers through streaming,” said Alex Spurzem, Managing Director of Samsung Ads for Southeast Asia and Oceania. “These new appointments show how committed we are to growing further in this space.”
Brigitte Slattery added, “People still love watching TV — the only difference now is that they’re streaming it. We’ve made it easy to access free TV with just one click when you turn on a Samsung TV. Viewers get a great mix of both local and global content right away.”
