More than 20 television titles owned by Disney TV, including the drama series Lost, will be making their way to IMDb TV, with the first shows arriving in April. IMDb TV is an ad-supported platform, meaning that viewers are able to use the platform for free and will be able to stream the acquired Disney-owned shows on demand.
IMDb, which is owned by Amazon, has gained exclusive free streaming rights to just over 20 shows that are controlled by Disney’s Direct-to-Consumer & International division. The first shows to be available on the platform will be Lost, Ally McBeal, and Malcolm in the Middle. The full roster of IMDb Disney shows includes Desperate Housewives, My So-Called Life, White Collar, The Glades, Army Wives, Boston Legal, Graceland, L.A. Law, Legends, Lie to Me, Private Practice, Revenge, Roswell, St. Elsewhere, Terra Nova, Ugly Betty, The Unit, and Witches of East End.
This news comes not long after Disney launched its own, non-ad supported streaming platform Disney+, which has gained just over 28 million subscribers in just three months. Though the success of Disney+ is notable, Deadline explains that the move to streaming means Disney will be losing a lot of the revenue they would normally get from licensing their content to other companies rather than streaming it. The shows licensed to IMDb TV are some of the few Disney shows remaining that are not exclusive to Disney+.
The acquisition of these popular properties is also good news for IMDb TV. IMDb TV launched in January of last year as “Freedive,” and is a free to use ad-supported video-on-demand platform, or AVOD. IMDb competes with other AVODs such as Crackle, which is owned by Sony, and Tubi TV. Other popular and upcoming streaming platforms are currently planning on having or already have an AVOD tier to their subscription plans, including Hulu (Disney), Peacock (NBCUniversal), and Pluto TV (ViacomCBS).
Lost will be available on IMDb TV on May 1st. Ally McBeal will be available on April 1st, and Malcolm in the Middle will be available June 1st.