JustWatch Hits Play on New Streaming Service for 50 Million Users

JustWatch spent 12 years helping viewers find where movies and shows stream.

Now, the company wants to keep more of the viewing sessions on its own service.

The JustWatch Group launched JustWatch TV on October 20 across 11 markets, including the U.S., putting it in front of the guide's 50 million users.

The streaming service offers free, ad-supported titles, movie rentals, and an ad-free subscription tier called JustWatch TV Plus.

The $3.99 monthly Plusprice matches the price listed for JustWatch Pro in the U.S. App Store.

Pro already offers ad removal and advanced search features, while Plus adds access to more than 300 ad-free U.S. titles.

Plus also bundles the Pro guide features, which leaves Pro's future as a standalone plan unclear.

Founder and CEO David Croyé said the launch marks "the most important new development in our company's twelve-year history."

"From the beginning, our vision was to create a single platform that directs fans to all of their entertainment options in one place."

"JustWatch TV will help fill in the gaps," Croyé said in a press release.

JustWatch TV puts the company's existing audience and discovery tools to a new commercial test.

Its next challenge is giving viewers enough reason to watch, rent, or subscribe directly through JustWatch.

JustWatch Enters a Streaming Market Full of Rivals

The new streaming service gives viewers three ways to watch within the guide they already use.

JustWatch TV Free offers curated titles with ads, while the Store rents recent and popular movies.

TV Plus adds more than 300 ad-free titles, advanced filters, and tools to hide watched or disliked titles.

Subscribers also receive 10% off hundreds of rentals through the Store.

The service launches with 30 content partners, including Paramount, New Regency, Fremantle, Bleecker Street, and Cineverse.

LEONINE Studios, SND, and Altitude also join the lineup in their respective markets.

The competitive pressure is immediate.

Free services such as Tubi and Plex already offer ad-supported viewing, while Roku's Howdy charges $2.99 per month for ad-free content.

JustWatch TV Plus costs $3.99 per month, with a limited-time $49.99 lifetime subscription also available.

Howdy already sells ad-free viewing for $1 less a month than Plus.

A product launch facing cheaper rivals has to win on convenience, which JustWatch delivers by skipping the app switch entirely.

Direct Viewing Adds a Second Stream of Demand Data

JustWatch's streaming guide serves more than 50 million users across 140 markets.

It lists more than 500,000 movies and TV shows across over 1,500 streaming services.

The company also supplies viewing data and streaming charts to roughly 1,400 partner websites and apps.

JustWatch TV gives the company another source of audience insights while opening a new viewing destination.

Three lessons stand out for companies launching new services from audience data they already own:

• Audience intent can guide product decisions. Companies should study what users search for to select offerings that match demonstrated demand.
• Existing users can reduce acquisition friction. Businesses should introduce new services within familiar products to encourage trial among established audiences.
• First-party data can support new revenue streams. Companies should connect audience insights with relevant products to generate revenue from existing customer relationships.

JustWatch TV could reveal which titles drive viewing, rentals, and subscriptions, informing JustWatch Media's film marketing campaigns.

Our Take: Who Benefits From JustWatch's Viewing Data?

JustWatch can now see what people search for and what they actually finish watching.

Our money is on studios and distributors as the first ones to benefit, since JustWatch Media can sell them campaigns informed by both signals.

Viewers get a murkier deal because JustWatch now ranks competing streamers while running one of its own.

FOX is headed for the same spot with its planned $22 billion Roku deal, which would let it rank Tubi and Howdy on a home screen it owns.

The DOJ has already asked both companies for more documents, a preview of the questions that JustWatch's 1,400 data partners may soon raise.

Transparent labeling should then anchor its brand strategy, since the guide is only worth using while viewers trust its rankings.

A streaming launch needs a pricing strategy that gives viewers a reason to subscribe and keeps the offer commercially viable.

Explore these top brand strategy agencies on DesignRush to find a partner that can clarify your market position.