JustWatch, Which Tells You Where Things Are Streaming, Is Launching Its Own Streaming Service

JustWatch TV launches next month for TVOD, AVOD, and SVOD viewing with content partnerships with Paramount, New Regency, Fremantle, Bleecker Street, and Vortex Media.

One of the biggest problems frequently cited with streaming services is that consumers simply do not know where to find the movies and shows they want to watch. Licensing deals cause them to jump from service to service, they don’t know when titles become available, and there’s no unified platform like in the days of cable and satellite where you can see everything that’s available to you in one place.

Of course, you can always use JustWatch. The free website tells you where any movie or show is available for streaming, be it subscription, free, or rental, and you can browse titles that are available on all of your services and then click through directly to that title on its respective streamer. I don’t mean to sound too much like an ad, but I’ve often found it to be an elegant solution.

Now though JustWatch is launching its own streaming service so that instead of searching for a title and coming up empty, ideally you can watch or rent that title right there.

JustWatch TV is launching next month across the U.S. and Canada, as well as additional territories (UK & Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain, Australia and New Zealand), and it will be a TVOD, AVOD, and SVOD service, meaning you can rent, watch with ads, or subscribe to watch ad-free. The service will be integrated directly onto the JustWatch website and mobile apps so that you don’t have to leave for another app.

Initially, JustWatch TV will have content launch partners including Paramount, New Regency, Fremantle, Bleecker Street, and Vortex Media, among others. That’s good news for smaller distributors, which tend to not have streaming output deals in the way A24 or Neon do to house their movies after theatrical. This should give those brands another avenue to get their movies out there and hopefully grease the wheels for acquisitions at places like the TIFF Market, where today’s news was announced.

The news sounds similar to what Letterboxd recently launched with its Video Store, which is yet another rental streaming service that is designed to highlight a curated collection smaller titles, some of which might not have any distribution or other streaming options. This though provides numerous viewing options and is partnering directly with distributors on a swath of titles. It’s unclear though exactly how many titles will be available at launch.

“Every day, millions of people come to JustWatch searching for simpler ways to watch and discover hundreds of thousands of movies and TV shows,” said David Croyé, Founder and CEO of the JustWatch Group. “For over a decade, our mission has been to connect fans with their favorite films and shows, particularly the hard-to-find and previously unavailable titles. With the launch of JustWatch TV, we aim to make content discovery, access and engagement even easier.”

Quentin Carbonell, JustWatch’s SVP of Global Content Acquisitions and Strategy, adds, “JustWatch TV is designed to meet that demand head-on, offering a straightforward solution at a time of fragmentation. We are curating film and TV hits and hard-to-find gems that you can watch for free or rent on JustWatch, or easily rediscover them on your favorite services. This way, JustWatch TV aims to support the whole industry, from filmmakers to distributors to streaming platforms across the world.”