Plex now offers access to more than 1,100 free, ad-supported channels. In announcing the milestone, Plex also claimed to be the “largest independent ad-supported video-on-demand and streaming media platform” by offering access to “the largest FAST channel line-up worldwide.”
In reality, it seems hard to argue with that statement. With 1,112 free-to-stream live TV channels available, Plex provides users with a significant amount of free content. To put the number of free channels into perspective, Sling Freestream offers more than 400, Pluto TV offers more than 300, and Tubi offers more than 250 free channels.
In addition to offering the most free channels overall, Plex also took the opportunity to claim it is now “the industry’s most widely available ad-supported video-on-demand and live TV” platform, with the service now available in more than 180 countries. In the U.S., specifically, Plex states users stream more than 800 FAST channels. According to the company, other major markets include Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Mexico, Brazil, Spain, and Germany.
“Our aim for Live TV on Plex is to have something for ALL of our users’ television tastes all over the world,” said Keith Valory, CEO of Plex. “While this ever-growing library of free-to-stream entertainment drives Plex toward this goal of offering any entertainment a consumer may want, we are also diligently focused on providing advertisers with unparalleled reach and the transparency that should come with it.”
Considering Plex only launched its free live TV service in 2020, it has grown quickly, and doesn’t seem likely to slow down anytime soon. Of course, the FAST market in general continues to grow at a rapid rate. If various studies and surveys are to be believed, the interest in free streaming services is growing every single day.
While the ever-increasing cost of paid streaming services is an obvious reason for the growth of free streaming services, some of the other reasons attributed to the growth of the sector include difficulty finding content and having too many paid services to choose from.
Regardless of the specific reasons, the FAST market continues to be a healthy avenue and that inevitably means companies like Plex will continue to add more free channels and content for users to consume.
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