Samsung shutting down WatchON service on December 31? (Update official statement Samsung)

Is Samsung planning to shut down the WatchON service on its phones and tablets? It certainly seems to be the case, as a screenshot sent to us by one of our Twitter followers has revealed that Samsung is sending out notifications to the app's users that WatchON will be shutting down by December 31st. Content already purchased by users will continue to be accessible, so it's unclear in what capacity WatchON is going away – it's likely Samsung will not offer any more information on movies, TV shows and the like, and possibly replace the WatchON app on older devices with the new Smart Remote app that debuted on the Galaxy Note 4.

We've asked Samsung for a statement on this matter, but all in all, this looks like yet another move by the Korean manufacturer to cease operating an existing service and (possibly) replace it with another. We saw the Samsung Hub get the same treatment, and it will be interesting to see how Samsung intends to replace WatchON, which currently acts as both a remote control application and as a TV guide.

Update: Official statement Samsung Benelux

On December 31st, 2014, Samsung WatchON will discontinue full service in all markets, except the United States and Korea. We would like to assure customers that content previously purchased through Samsung WatchON will not be affected and will remain accessible through the relevant content provider's application. We ask all customers with questions or concerns to please contact our customer support team by visiting the following website: http://help.content.samsung.com.

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