A new streaming service has just entered the marketplace. The good news, in this particular case, is that this one is free to use. Plex, which has mostly been a media curation tool up to this point, has just launched its own streaming service that will come with tons of movies, TV shows and other content that is free to stream. The only catch? The service is ad-supported, which means those who want to take advantage will need to put up with ad breaks.
The service, which launched in over 200 countries, plays host to thousands of free movies, TV shows, extreme sports films, music documentaries, Bollywood musicals, and more. The company also boasts that they have familiar titles, such as The Terminator and Rain Man, as well as more obscure titles, like Squid Man. Additionally, they promise to ad a wide variety of titles in the future from around the globe, as well as "really cool independent movies fresh off the festival circuit." Plex CEO Keith Valory had this to say.
"Plex was born out of a passion for media and entertainment, and offering free ad-supported premium films and TV shows is just the latest step in our mission to bring all your favorite content together in one place. What started more than a decade ago as a passion project to make accessing media on connected devices easier has evolved into the most comprehensive streaming platform in the industry, used by millions of people around the world."
Plex has teamed with several major studios that will host content on the service. At launch, they have titles from Warner Bros., Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM), Lionsgate and Legendary. The company also made it clear that those who use the service for their own media curation will not be subject to ads. Only content hosted on the streaming service section of the app will be ad-supported. Those who already use Plex will simply now have a new section within the app where they can take advantage of the free to stream titles, should they so choose.
Netflix is still the king of the streaming game with more than 150 million subscribers worldwide, but everyone in Hollywood is getting in on it. Disney+ and Apple TV+ recently launched, with HBO Max and Comcast's Peacock set to launch next year. We've also got smaller services like Shudder and CBS All Access out there as well. As such, consumers have abundant choices in this arena.
With that, Plex is entering a very crowded marketplace, but not charging potential users is one way to get a leg-up. Though, there are also plenty of free streaming services out there already such as Crackle, IMDB TV, Tubi and Vudu, amongst others. Those who wish to give this one a try just need to sign up for a free account, which simply requires an email and password. To sign up or for more information, head on over to Plex.tv.