JustWatch, the search platform that for twelve years has helped viewers find which service carries a given film or show, has started operating a streaming service of its own. JustWatch TV launches in 11 countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, combining editorially curated free content with a rental store and a paid ad-free tier.
From search engine to content provider
JustWatch built its reputation as a neutral guide: an app and website that tells users where a title is streaming, renting or purchasable, rather than hosting the content itself. JustWatch TV changes that role by adding a first-party viewing destination inside the same app. Founder and CEO David Croyé described the move as "the most important new development" in the company's history, framing it as a natural extension of its original goal of letting people "just watch" what they want without hunting across multiple apps.
Three tiers, three different trade-offs
The new service is structured around three distinct access models, each with its own cost and content structure:
- JustWatch TV Free - an ad-supported tier with a curated selection of films and series, requiring no payment but interrupted by advertising.
- JustWatch TV Store - a transactional rental library focused on recent and popular titles, priced per rental rather than by subscription.
- JustWatch TV Plus - a paid, ad-free option that adds further catalogue titles and additional features not available on the free tier.
This layered approach mirrors a broader industry trend in which platforms blend advertising, rental and subscription revenue rather than relying on a single model. For consumers, it means the cost and convenience of watching a given title can vary depending on which tier carries it.
Content partners and market reach
JustWatch TV launches with 30 content partners, including Altitude in the UK and Ireland, alongside international suppliers such as Paramount, New Regency, Fremantle, Bleecker Street and Vortex Media. The service is available at launch in the UK, US, Canada, Ireland, Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Spain, Australia and New Zealand, through the JustWatch website and its mobile and TV apps.
The underlying JustWatch guide remains the company's core product, used by more than 50 million people across 140 markets to locate titles among roughly 500,000 films and shows spread across 1,500 streaming services. That data also powers over 1,400 partner websites and apps, giving JustWatch a large existing audience it can now direct toward its own streaming catalogue.
What it means for viewers
For US and UK audiences already using JustWatch to locate titles elsewhere, the practical change is that some content will now be watchable directly inside the app, without redirecting to a third-party service. Whether a given title sits behind an ad-supported free tier, a paid rental or the ad-free subscription will depend on licensing arrangements with each partner, so availability and cost are likely to vary title by title rather than following a single fixed price.