Verizon FiOS TV app for LG smart TV offers 26 live TV channels without additional hardware

LG announced a partnership with Verizon this morning that will bring 26 live channels to its smart TVs and Blu-ray players through an app called FiOS TV. It hasn’t been announced what specific channels are available yet, but customers will be able to access them directly through the TV without the need for extra hardware, like a cable box. Verizon’s also offering access to its Flex View on-demand service, which features more than 10,000 available titles. Unfortunately, you’ll have to be a FiOS subscriber to take advantage of this offering, so we’re not exactly sure what the benefit is here — if you’re paying for FiOS, you already have the requisite hardware and access to this content (unless these channels are exclusive to the FiOS TV app). Still, it’s another example of the rapidly increasing options for accessing content from your cable provider outside the traditional means. This app will launch sometime in 2012, but there aren’t any more specific details available at the moment.