Plex Incorporates Live TV With Addition of 80-Plus Free Linear Channels to Platform

Plex continues to transform into a free streaming platform. Today, the streaming app that is best known for streaming personal media, announced they are adding free ad-supported Live TV to their platform with the addition of over 80 channels (a full list is below).

Unlike some other free ad-supported services that are available in select markets, most of the channels on Plex will be available globally. At launch it will be available on Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, iOS, Android and desktop. The company expects to bring it smart TVs, as well as gaming consoles soon.

The announcement comes just weeks after Roku added a new Live TV Guide to The Roku Channel. Plex will also now be going head-to-head with Pluto TV, which was acquired by ViacomCBS last year, and already has 24 million active users. Comcast has also entered the ad-supported linear TV space, through their acquisition of Xumo and through the launch of linear channels in Peacock.

The addition of Live TV on Plex offers consumers a variety of options, ranging from live news like Reuters and Yahoo Finance, to kids shows like “Toon Goggles,” to all things sports including live games, original programming and movies/docs from fubo Sports Network, to gaming and esports on IGN1, and two new LGBTQ+ channels from Revry. Live TV on Plex also offers comedy, game shows, anime and 19 music channels.

One nice feature on Plex is that you will be able to re-order and hide certain channels that you don’t want to appear in your channel guide.

“Two of the most important factors for an enjoyable streaming experience are easily being able to find something of interest to watch, and being able to watch it from any device you choose,” said Keith Valory, CEO of Plex. “Plex offers consumers across the globe a simple yet powerful platform for access to all types of content that can be streamed from all types of devices.”

In May, Plex announced they added Crackle and its library of movies and TV shows. Starting today, Plex users now have access to thousands more titles to stream, courtesy of the Sony Pictures Television and Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, Inc. app.

Last August, the app signed a deal with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution for the rights to a package of feature films available to users only in the U.S.

The agreement allows U.S.-based users to access a package of library feature film titles from Warner Bros., in addition to already available content like live and recorded over-the-air television, trustworthy news, popular web shows, podcasts and over 60 million HiFi streaming music tracks.

They followed that up by striking another deal with Lionsgate to add even more content to the ad-supported platform. However, the deal with Lionsgate permits Plex to distribute their content worldwide, with geo-restrictions dependent on each title.

Full List of Plex Linear Channels