Fandango объединяет платный стриминг с бесплатной платформой и запускает трансляции Бундеслиги

Fandango, the company best known for movie ticket sales, has announced that it's consolidating its paid streaming service, Fandango at Home, into its overall brand. Gone is the "at Home" part, with the focus now on expanding its free, ad-supported streaming platform. The rebranded offering will expand its catalog of movies and TV shows and now include live sports from the Bundesliga, Germany's top professional soccer league. The company is aiming to position itself to be a major rival to free streaming services such as Tubi, Pluto TV and The Roku Channel. Moving forward, Fandango's streaming service will grant viewers access to its free content library without the added barriers of creating an account or logging in. The platform's "Watch Now" feature has been updated, allowing people to instantly play its free programming with a single click. This relaunch will take effect across Fandango, whether you're connecting with the brand on the web, through mobile devices, or on your smart TV. According to the company's press release, customers should expect "improved discovery, richer title presentation and enhanced viewing experiences." As for what will be included in this expansion, Fandango's free service will feature a curated selection of movies, franchises and TV series, totaling more than 3,500 hours of free programming from parent company Versant Media's library. Exclusive English-language coverage of the Bundesliga (via USA Sports' long-term media rights agreement, previously held by ESPN) will bring one of Europe's top leagues to the US in the wake of the World Cup. "This expansion of our AVOD streaming offering -- and bringing it together under the Fandango brand -- is an important step in building a more connected entertainment experience for fans," said Will McIntosh, president of digital platforms and ventures at Versant. This move seemingly puts Fandango in a category all its own. Currently, it's the only entertainment brand that acts as a free streaming service, a movie ticket retailer and a premium streamer for at-home rentals and purchases, all in one unified ecosystem.