Plex — a streaming app that allows users to stream movies, TV shows, news, web shows, podcasts, music, live and recorded television and personal media —announced the launch of their own streaming service today. The service will include dozens of movies and shows from studios like MGM, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, Lionsgate and Legendary.
The free, ad-supported service is available in more than 200 countries to anyone with a free Plex account. Unlike its competitors — The Roku Channel, Tubi, Crackle and Vudu’s Movies on Us — Plex has structured its deals in order to stream content outside the U.S., TechCrunch reported, making it the largest ad-supported video service in terms of reach.
“Plex was born out of a passion for media and entertainment, and offering free ad-supported premium movies and TV shows is just the latest step in our mission to bring all your favorite content together in one place,” said Keith Valory, Plex’s CEO. “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.”
New Plex users can download the app on all major smart TVs and streaming boxes — Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV boxes, as well as iOS and Android devices. Existing Plex users will see a new “Free to Watch” category unlocked under “Movies & TV” on the sidebar, allowing you to position it alongside your existing collections. The new streaming option can also be removed.