Plex has officially launched its ad-supported streaming service, which offers free access to movies, TV shows, and documentaries from both major studios and smaller indie producers. “Starting today, Plex will deliver more content to more countries than any other free streaming service to date,” the company wrote in a blog post a clear jab at similar offerings like The Roku Channel.
The ad-supported video-on-demand service is available in more than 200 countries to anyone with a free Plex account. There’s no paid subscriptions, and it features content from major studios including Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM), Lionsgate, Legendary and, of course, Warner Bros. American Ultra, Frequency, Lord of War, Rain Man, Raging Bull, The Terminator, Thelma & Louise and Apocalypse Now all feature, with more movies set to be added in the future.
If you’re already a Plex user, a new Free to Watch category will be unlocked under a Movies & TV on Plex sidebar item, allowing you to position it alongside your existing collections. Much like the Tidal and Web Shows items, the new streaming option can also be removed if it isn’t to your liking. If you’ve never used Plex before, it has apps on all major smart TVs and streaming boxes, meaning you can add it to your console, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV boxes, as well as iOS and Android devices.
Plex’s new offering doesn’t come with a price, but it does come with ads. Even if you’re a Plex Pass subscriber, which unlocks numerous features for streaming and managing a personal collection, these new movies and TV shows will still be punctuated by ads. Plex says it will serve “only about one-third the amount of ads you’d expect on cable television” and that while some movies and TV shows will be geo-restricted, the “vast majority” of content will be available worldwide.
Plex says customers can expect Free to Watch enhancements like improved subtitle support, better discoverability, and a watchlist in the future. There might be a way to include on-demand titles in your main library, though I’m certain many Plex users with carefully curated collections will want nothing to do with that.
