Don’t let the title fool you. Plex is already one of the hottest options available to anyone looking to stream their own content anywhere in the world. Many will claim Plex is already number one (we do all the time), however, the company wants to make sure it is official.
With $50 million raised in funding, Plex plans to push forward with its attempt to cover everything within the realm of streaming. Not only continuing to enhance personal media streaming capabilities but also incorporate media from all of the other major platforms as well.
So by next year, you may begin to see names like Netflix, HULU, and Disney+ pop up into the Plex interface, allowing you to gain access to all of your favorite content without having to switch between apps. If the company can manage this, it would be a huge blow to companies like Roku (given, you may still find yourself using solutions like Roku to access your Plex content with).
The company has already been pushing hard to include ad-supported content from major names like MGM, Warner Bros, Sony, Lionsgate, AMC, BBC, Crackle, and more. Through this, thousands of titles are available to Plex users to accompany their own personal collections.
The new on-demand content that Plex is looking to include will, of course, be “on-demand” and shouldn’t include any ads unless the original platforms being added include ads by nature. The experience should be somewhat similar to how you access your favorite streaming services through the likes of Roku, Android, and so forth. However, there is no telling how far Plex will be able to go with this. If it will simply be separate screens/apps opened within Plex like these services are accessed through others, or if the content within these services will be searchable and integrated along with the rest of the Plex library of content.
The latter seems to be what the company is hoping to ultimately achieve, however, this will depend heavily on these other companies willing to fully play nicely together. These other networks typically remain isolated within their own apps since they make use of their own ad-ecosystems that are used to promote content within their networks.
