Media streamer Plex’s long-delayed plans to launch a marketplace for TV and movie rentals are finally coming to fruition after several false starts. The media startup initially announced its plan to expand its streaming service to include rentals shortly before the Covid-19 pandemic affected launch plans along with other technical concerns. Then at CES a year ago, Plex said the rental marketplace was set to launch in the second quarter. But this window was also lost.
Now, the company is confirming a scoop Janko Roettgerswho recently broke the news that Plex’s TV and movie store will launch next month after speaking with Plex executives at CES.
Plex confirmed to TechCrunch that Roettgers’ story is accurate, though it noted that it did not include specific details such as show titles or launch partners. He also said that the exact time of arrival of the store is not yet public. However, the report said Plex had “the most studios” on board, with plans to add more over time.
The streaming media software maker has long planned to enter the TVOD (commercial video on demand, also known as rentals) market to complement the ad-supported streaming that now fuels the business’s revenue streams. The idea is that the storefront will allow Plex users to find movies and TV shows to watch on demand, allowing Plex to become more of a one-stop shop for your media content.
The company admitted last year that delays in its progress on that front were often technical in nature, saying it had run into problems with DRM functionality, prompting Plex to switch providers. He also said that getting studio approval was a holdover, as was moving from one third-party partner to another for its AVOD (ad-supported video on demand) service. Then, progress stalled again as the team had to deal with an unrelated technical bug that was causing streams to randomly drop out on Android TV, Fire TV, and Android platforms.
With those headaches behind it, the rental service is finally getting closer to launch — for real this time, Plex says. We expect to hear more about this next month.
In addition to the TVOD store, the report noted that Plex’s plans for next year included a redesign and additional social features.
