Plex picks up Google TV’s best tricks w/ universal watchlist and search for streaming services

Ben Schoon | Apr 5 2022 - 9:13 am PT

There are way too many streaming services today, and with content constantly moving between them, it isn’t easy to keep track of shows and movies you want to watch. Google TV solved that problem when it launched in 2020, but now Plex is throwing its hat in the ring with similar tricks.

Plex today announced a major update to its app across all platforms. A brand new section of Plex will be dedicated to the discovery of films and TV shows, with personalized recommendations across all services. Opening a listing for a piece of content brings up more information, its trailer, and the option to save it to a watchlist, but most crucially, a directory to see that content across various streaming services.

In essence, it’s the same thing Google TV does natively on its homescreen, but now within an app that works across multiple platforms. Plex is making the universal watchlist, search, and discovery features available across its apps on Android/Google TV, Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, consoles, smart TVs, and mobile apps on Android or iOS. The feature will integrate with streaming services, digital marketplaces, as well as your own personal Plex libraries. Like Google TV, you can tell Plex which services you subscribe to for the sake of recommendations.

Today, we’re proud to be launching an entirely new section of Plex, focused on discovering, searching, and personalizing movies and TV shows across virtually any streaming service—whether it’s Plex’s own free movies and TV, or your other subscriptions like Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, and as many of the various personal media libraries you have access to

There’s also a watchlist, which works across services and can include films that have yet to be released on digital streaming. Trailers for upcoming releases will also appear on the discovery tab.

Notably, too, this new feature for Plex will be free. There are some additional features that come with Plex’s $4.99/month Pro subscription, but the core watchlist, discovery, and content aggregation features are completely free.

Currently, Plex discovery is only available in beta, but in a public beta program.