IMDb's free streaming service, IMDb TV, has finally arrived on mobile devices. Android and iOS smartphone users can now stream and watch movies and TV shows after downloading the IMDb TV app from Google Play or the App Store. For now, the app's streaming service will only be available to smartphone users in the United States.
Previously, IMDb TV was only available on the company's website, including Prime Video or Amazon Fire TVs. The free streaming service first came into being as "Freedive" back in January of this year. It was the company's second attempt to launch a streaming service after it released a similar one nearly a decade ago, but which was later discontinued.
When the service first came out as Freedive, it offered a collection of ad-supported TV shows such as The Bachelor, Without a Trace, Kitchen Nightmares, Duck Dynasty, Heroes and Fringe, including Hollywood movies like Memento, The Last Samurai, True Romance, Foxcatcher, Awakenings, among many others.
Later in June, IMDb decided to rebrand its streaming service, add more content, and expand its reach to include Europe. From then on, IMDb managed to bring in more movies such as La La Land and Captain Fantastic, among others, thanks to new deals with Sony Pictures Entertainment, Warner Bros. and MGM Studios.
"With IMDb TV, viewers have discovered TV the way it ought to be - a free collection of premium TV shows and movies available anytime," said Vice President of IMDb TV Mark Eamer in a statement earlier this year.
"We deliver a top quality discovery experience that makes it easy to be entertained. With more titles than ever before coming to IMDb TV and our upcoming European expansion later this year, we're excited for customers to tune in and enjoy all that IMDb TV has to offer, all at no cost," Eamer continued.
Because Amazon-owned IMDb already has millions of website visitors, the company believes its recent move to launch a free streaming service would enable it to get a piece of the streaming market share, which is currently being dominated by the likes of Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video.
According to one statistics, the global video streaming service is expected to reach $83.41 billion by 2022. In a world where technology continues to evolve, it appears that people may soon begin to cut their cable connections and move towards streaming services for their entertainment needs.
