Las Vegas, Jan 7 (IANS): In a first such collaboration between two arch rivals, Samsung has announced it will offer Apple iTunes movies and TV shows and Apple AirPlay 2 support on 2019 Smart TV models beginning this spring.

So if you've bought movies or TV shows from Apple's iTunes store, you will be able to watch those on Samsung TVs without connecting an Apple TV box.

"In an industry first, a new iTunes Movies and TV Shows app will debut only on Samsung Smart TVs in more than 100 countries. AirPlay 2 support will be available on Samsung Smart TVs in 190 countries worldwide," the company announced on Sunday at the CES 2019 here.

Support on 2018 Samsung Smart TVs will be made available via firmware update.

With the new iTunes Movies and TV Shows app on Samsung Smart TVs, Samsung customers can access their existing iTunes library and browse the iTunes Store to buy or rent from a selection of hundreds of thousands of movies and TV episodes a" including the largest selection of 4K HDR movies.

"We pride ourselves on working with top industry leaders to deliver the widest range of content services to our Smart TV platform," said Won-Jin Lee, Executive Vice President, Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics.

"Bringing more content, value and open platform functionality to Samsung TV owners and Apple customers through iTunes and AirPlay is ideal for everyone," he added in a statement.

With AirPlay 2 support, Samsung customers will be able to effortlessly play videos, photos, music, podcasts and more from Apple devices directly to the entire range of Samsung Smart TVs.

"We look forward to bringing the iTunes and AirPlay 2 experience to even more customers around the world through Samsung Smart TVs," said Eddy Cue, Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services at Apple.