Plex is now offering its own version of ad-supported streaming service. This is to compete with other free streaming services such as Vudu’s Movies on Us, Crackle, Tubi, and The Roku Channel. The ad-free streaming platform will offer a huge library of content. It will include films and shows from MGM Studios, Warner Brothers, Lionsgate, Domestic Television Distribution, and Legendary.
Although you’ll find several platforms of the same offering in the market, the new streaming service of Plex is unique. This is because of its broad availability. When compared to its competitors, the offerings of Plex were structured well in such a way that users can stream content from outside the US.
Plex revealed that most of its content would be streamed in around 220 countries all over the world. This makes them the biggest in terms of reach.
No Subscription Required
Just like with the other platforms that offer free streaming, Plex’ ad-supported service will not require any subscription. Users don’t need to sign up or make a payment. However, they have to deal with all those ads coming up every now and then.
This streaming service will come with the traditional and pre-roll ad breaks. However, Plex promises to offer an ad load that’s around 50 to 60 percent less than what you will usually experience in broadcast television. As of the moment, Plex has leveraged partnerships with ad networks in order to sell ads, but they revealed plans of moving to direct sales in 2020.
The ad-supported streaming service is integrated into its media organization software. Plex has greatly evolved over the recent years and has come a long way from being a media player intended for home media. The company wants to organize your own media collection with web shows, podcasts, music, and news stream, courtesy of their partnership with TIDAL. These ad-supported contents will show up at the sidebar of Plex under the heading, “Movies & TV.”
The section is organized similarly to Netflix and includes image thumbnails that allow for easy browsing. There are also hubs that you can use to search for trending, popular, and genre-specific content.
Plex has included hubs that were editorially curated such as customized hubs that are based on watch history and cross-platform. All in all, there are about 70 hubs that will appear on the platform. When you click each title, you’ll find details like rating, genre, year, description, length, and critic scores. There are also audience ratings provided by Rotten Tomatoes. The content will be streamed at 1080p and items will be marked as they play.
Broad Range of Content
Users can enjoy a broad range of content from the platform. Some of the titles that you’ll find at Plex are cult classics and also include award-winning titles like The Terminator, Frequency, Rain Man, Overboard etc. There are also a few documentaries and concerts.
Plex’ ad-supported streaming service can be played on various platforms that include Apple TV, Roku, Android TV, and smart TVs. You can also play the content using mobile platforms of both iOS and Android.
Passion for Media and Entertainment
Plex was created as a result of the founder’s passion for media and entertainment. Offering ad-supported streaming service is just their latest efforts in their goal of providing free entertainment. Plex started as a passion project about a decade ago. It has now evolved into a more comprehensive streaming service with millions of users all over the world.
Plex’ plans to offer an ad-supported streaming service were revealed in January and were described as something similar to Roku Channel. At the moment, Plex has about 15 million registered users.
Although it’s profitable, there are only a small number of subscribers that pay for their advanced features. This is what triggered Plex to look for new ways to earn revenue, which is how they came up with the ad-supported content.
Conclusion
Plex sounds like a great platform to try. Aside from the fact that this new ad-supported streaming service is free, the platform has a broad range of content. You get to enjoy watching your favorite films and shows from different genres.
What do you think of Plex’s new service? Do you think this new platform can compete with the various ad-supported streaming platforms out there? Drop us a comment in the section below!
