MOVIE NEWS – Warner Bros. Discovery is joining the streaming wars with the launch of a new free ad-supported streaming service called WBTV. The new offering will compete with established players like Tubi, IMDbTV, Pluto, and Xumo.

Warner Bros. is the latest studio to break into the rapidly changing streaming industry. The company’s new free ad-supported streaming service, WBTV, will offer users some of the programs few people watch for free while making some extra money from ad revenue. The strategy will go up against Tubi, Amazon’s IMDbTV, Paramount’s Pluto, and Comcast’s Xumo.

The business model behind such platforms is simple: each streaming service makes most of its money by convincing users to sign up for a handful of shows. Warners’ decision to enter the free streaming market is expected to disrupt the current trend of offering premium content for a fee. Netflix is also said to be exploring ideas to offer another free ad-supported service after launching its Basic with Ads plans just a few months ago.

Bloomberg’s in-depth coverage of the streaming landscape also highlighted the possibility of each studio or streamer’s walled gardens coming down. This means that the likes of Disney, Amazon, and Paramount could be more open to selling streaming rights to some of their prized films in the future. Another key point is that companies seem to be backing down on releasing big-budget movies via streaming, a trend kickstarted due to the pandemic and Disney entering the streaming arena.

Overall, Warner Bros. is taking a bold step by introducing a free streaming service to the market. However, viewers should not expect to find HBO Max’s premium content for free on WBTV.

Source: GameRant