Streaming guide Just Watch is launching its own platform with both free and paid tiers, and I think it's already matching the likes of Tubi — here's why | Tech Radar

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Streaming guide Just Watch is launching its own platform with both free and paid tiers, and I think it's already matching the likes of Tubi — here's why

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Streaming guide Just Watch is launching its own streaming service

It will have both free and paid tiers, including an option to rent titles

Paramount and New Regency are just two of the partners supporting its content launch

Entertainment guide Just Watch is every movie buff’s best friend, telling you where you can find movies, TV shows, and other content on the best streaming services — and now it’s launching a platform of its own.

Announced at the Toronto International Film Festival on Tuesday (September 15), Just Watch TV will land in October (an exact date hasn’t been revealed yet) on the Just Watch app and website. It’s launching in the U. S., Canada, the UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain, Australia, and New Zealand first, with plans to expand to other regions in the future.

Unlike a standard subscription-based platform, Just Watch TV will offer both free and paid options for streaming titles, including a free ad-supported tier, a paid subscription tier, and the option to rent titles similar to Prime Video. While prices for its paid plan haven’t been revealed, I imagine this tier will give you additional perks such as the removal of ads, and possibly upgraded streaming quality.

Since it was founded in 2014, Just Watch has helped countless viewers find their favorite movies and shows when they don’t know where to start. When there’s a sea of hundreds, maybe thousands of streaming platforms globally, Just Watch is a godsend for narrowing it down. But don’t worry, this tool isn’t going anywhere.

If you find that a title isn’t available to stream on the new Just Watch TV service, it will still guide you to other platforms where it's available. So, even though Just Watch TV will house its own catalog of content, its ethos of helping you locate the titles you want to stream isn’t going anywhere.

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Speaking as a movie buff, I use Just Watch just as much as I use my favorite streaming platforms (right now, I’m addicted to HBO Max), and it spares me a lot of disappointment when I head to a platform with the intention of watching a particular movie, and find out it’s no longer available.

The shift to launching its own service is a natural move for Just Watch, and having both free and paid options will not only set it apart from its rivals, but give users more streaming choices. As for its free version, I think it’s already matching Tubi and other best free streaming services for one particular reason, and that’s distribution partners.

As it stands, there are six partners backing Just Watch TV’s content launch, and they’re quite notable. Firstly, you have Paramount and New Regency joining the mix, the latter boasting Oscar-winning blockbusters such as 12 Years a Slave (2013) and Birdman (2014), not to mention iconic TV shows like Malcolm in the Middle. Additionally, you can expect to see titles from Fremantle, Bleecker Street, and Vortex Media coming to Just Watch TV.

Sure, Tubi is by far the most established free streaming service. It has a solid repertoire of programming partners (Paramount being one of them) and major-league distributors like Lionsgate — it’s also a Fox acquisition, so that’s one of the reasons why it can house an extensive library of movies, shows, sports, and current affairs programming.

But as far as Just Watch TV goes, it’s kick-starting with the support of some pretty impressive distributors already, which will serve the platform well for enticing more partners to join in the future. It’s a solid start to what could become the next best free streaming service.

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Rowan is an Editorial Associate and Apprentice Writer for Tech Radar. A recent addition to the news team, he is involved in generating stories for topics that spread across Tech Radar's categories. His interests in audio tech and knowledge in entertainment culture help bring the latest updates in tech news to our readers.

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