YEARS OF PLEX

A decade ago, we launched a game-changing product, evolved from an independently developed home-brew media player app that functioned solely on Xbox, to an app that enables you to enjoy the media you love on any device, no matter where you are. Check out our standout moments and join us in celebrating ten years of Plex!

So it begins...

In the beginning—well, in 2002—there was Xbox Media Center – that home-brew media player application that functioned solely on Xbox.

2002-2007: As it grows in popularity over the next five years (and officially becomes XBMC), some enterprising Silicon Valley minds think “I bet we could get this to run on a Mac Mini—if they could do it on Linux, we’ve gotta be able to do it!”

2007-2008: Meanwhile, on the island of Maui, another inventive young dev, left alone for a weekend while his wife is away, starts hacking and documenting his efforts to do the very same thing.

2008: The top US TV shows are American Idol, Dancing With the Stars, and CSI; Breaking Bad debuts, along with Sons of Anarchy and True Blood. Netflix started streaming video in the US last year.

2008: Hip hop and rap top the charts, with Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, and Rihanna holding the top three Billboard spots. Amy Winehouse takes home 5 Grammys, Taylor Swift is still a country star, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe kicks off with the first Iron Man movie.

January – February 2008: The very first posts of OSXBMC—what would eventually be the Plex blog—are published, giving us updates on the progress of development AND Barkley the dog’s blog debut.

March 2008: Hulu launches for public access in the US. Netflix has been around for a decade, but just started streaming movies last year. And less than 1 million American households rely on the internet to watch TV.

July 2008: As time goes on, our motley crew knows they have to come up with a name—and fast. After hemming and hawing, the first email mentioning Plex crosses the Pacific at 2am on the 19th of July.

Plex becomes Plex

Early 2009: Lady Gaga comes on the scene with her first hit “Just Dance”, reality TV continues to dominate, and Spotify begins offering free but limited access to its services after launching in Sweden the last October.

February-May 2009: The small but mighty band of devs working on the Plex passion project opens up the first Plex App Store, letting third party developers create plugins of all sorts.

July 2009: James, one of these devs, writes the framework for developing the plugins, with the first showing up just 24 hours later and 100 available in just 5 short months. The Plex community is growing, and a glimpse into the future is had with this James character.

August 2009: Our founders are approached by the CTO of LG Electronics, who tells them he believes Plex is the future of TV, inviting the two of them to speak in front of a packed auditorium in Seoul. By the end, they have agreed to put an app on LG Smart TVs and announce the following year.

Late 2009: The year rounds out with some big blockbusters; “Avatar” comes out, earning $2.79 billion and title of highest grossing movie while Disney acquires Marvel for $4 billion.

December 2009: Plex hires its first devs! That’s right, they make it official with plugin framework genius JAMES! December 9 also marks the date we officially incorporate: Plex Inc. is born!

The road to platform domination begins

January 2010: Our first appearance in (what will become) TechCrunch, talking about building the new media center software from the ground up, totally overhauling everything.

March 2010: Dubbed Alexandria, after the famous ancient library, the new software provides many new capabilities under the hood that will allow developers to build some seriously cool new things.

August 2010: Lo and behold, Plex and Netflix release their iOS apps in the very same month, while simultaneously Netflix starts expanding out of the US, beginning in Canada.

September 2010: The road to total platform domination continues as Plex announces its first Smart TV integration (with LG, unveiled in January 2011), along with Apple TV and Boxee apps.

December 2010: The FCC Open Internet Order bans cable television and telephone service providers from preventing access to competitors or certain websites such as Netflix.

Credit cards to pay the bills

January 2011: Our first Smart TV integration with LG is unveiled at CES. Over the next several months, we launch these apps: Android, Windows, Roku (as a private channel), and Linux.

February 2011: Meanwhile, Amazon Prime members are given access to over 5,000 movies and TV shows without ads for free and Vudu announces the launch of its online streaming service.

April 2011: AND OF COURSE, who could forget the HBO Premiere of Game of Thrones??

July-November 2011: Apple releases Siri and iCloud while Netflix stock plunges from $42.16/share in July to $9.12/share in November as 800,000 subscribers quit after the Quikster debacle.

October 2011: My Plex, our answer to iCloud is released: “Seriously, though,” the founders think, “if Apple is doing it, it must be brilliant. Or different, or something.”

Platforms, features, and Plex Pass, oh my!

March 2012: Our Roku Channel officially hits the Roku store, positioning itself to be one of the Top Ten Channels for years to come and our most popular platform ever.

March 2012: Spotify announces that its app users listened to 1,500 years of music in three months. The company also unveils 10 million active users total, with 3 million of them paying for the service.

May-June 2012: The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises are released and Carly Rae Jepsen has the #1 hit with “Call Me Maybe”. In the meantime, we launch the availability of custom art, our new web app, and an app for Samsung Smart TVs.

August 2012: PLEX PASS IS BORN: “We had to launch Plex Pass to get some dev money and see if this dog was gonna hunt”

The PlexHaus era begins

February 2013: Netflix unveils their first original content, House of Cards, bucking the studios and networks and kicking off an industry-changing strategy.

April 2013: We Rickroll our users as an April Fool’s joke, making our appreciation for Mr. Astley official.

October 2013: We set up our first “official” office— affectionately called PlexHaus—out of a home in Los Gatos with 10 employees. The garage is the Plex Lab, home to all the devices and NASes used for testing. Says one of the founders, “That’s our garage story. Everyone needs one.”

October-November 2013: Spotify makes more than 20 million songs available to 24 million users, Gravity and Frozen premiere, and Blockbuster closes their stores. Meanwhile, we release our Chromecast app, Plex Companion, Plex Home Theater, and our new website launches.

Apps on apps on apps

Early 2014: As more devices hit the market, more devices get Plex, including: Fire TV and Android TV; we also launch fan favorite Trailers & Extras.

June 2014: Amazon announces Prime Music, debuts first original content “Transparent,” and adds Prime Photos. Guardians of the Galaxy is also released.

Late 2014: …And we round out the year with more features and availability on more devices: Xbox, Vizio, Plex Home, and PS3 & PS4.

Music, music everywhere (and apps too!)

April-August 2015: We launch Plex Music (AND we hit 48 employees!). We also announce that our Roku and Xbox360 apps, which used to cost money, are now free for everyone.

June 2015: Apple Music launches, Prince removes his catalog from Spotify, and YouTube Red launches.

October-December 2015: Our improved home theater PC (HTPC) app, Plex Media Player, is released, alongside our new Apple TV app. Lyrics also launch, kicking Plex Music up a notch.

December 2015: Star Wars: The Force Awakens is released, 10 years after the last Star Wars film, kicking off a new generation of installments and super-fans.

The year of DVR

March-April 2016: Our Roku and web apps get significant updates and we unveil our first player-and-server-in-one with NVIDIA SHIELD, as well as our very first Sonos app.

May 2016: Netflix announces it will launch original kids content AND partners with Univision to broadcast Narcos to all its users.

September 2016: We launch DVR, giving Plex Pass users the keys to as much free over-the-air content as their servers can handle.

Live TV + news

February 2017: We launch our first Alexa skill, giving Plex users the ability to control playback with just your voice.

June 2017: Live TV joins DVR, giving folks the chance to watch all those over-the-air transmissions on all their devices, live OR recorded.

July 2017: The summer of “Despacito”: it becomes the most streamed song ever, at 4.6 billion plays. Meanwhile, Facebook has 2 billion monthly users.

September 2017: We launch Plex News, our first free third-party content, after having acquired news company Watchup in January.

December 2017: We also debut Plex Labs, our engineering-focused blog, kicking off with our awesome Plexamp music player.

Podcasts & web shows & music, oh my!

January-May 2018: We enter the year with virtual reality apps and massive updates to our server and Chromecast apps; in May, podcasts launch, bringing more third-party free content into the mix.

February 2018: Black Panther is released, becomes the fifth Marvel movie to earn $1 billion worldwide, AND becomes the highest grossing superhero film in America, raking in $630.9 million. Avengers: Infinity War is also released, setting a new record for an opening weekend, earning $630 million worldwide.

April 2018: Streaming music services overtake worldwide sales of CDs and vinyl for the first time according to IFPI. Beyoncé is the first black woman to headline the Coachella Music Festival, her performance becoming the most-watched performance ever on YouTube.

October 2018: We launch web shows, yet one more free third-party media type. The Simpsons surpasses Gunsmoke‘s 635-episode count, earning the highest episode count of any series on TV.

November 2018: TIDAL joins the party, bringing streaming music into the Plex family mix. Meanwhile, Drake surpasses The Beatles’ record of most singles on the Billboard Hot One 100, with seven against their five, from his album Scorpion.

Late 2018: Apple becomes the first American public listed company to reach $1 trillion in value. Meanwhile, Ariana Grande releases the music video for her single “Thank U Next”, becoming the biggest ever launch on YouTube Premiere.

The present

March-April 2019: This time we let YOU Rickroll each other!! Our early dreams of giving everyone the power to assault treat everyone to Rick Astley get even more vivid.

March-April 2019: Apple introduces its new TV streaming platform, Apple TV+; news service, Apple News+; and Game of Thrones episode “The Long Night” debuts with the longest battle ever screened, clocking in at nearly 80 mins.

April 2019: We up our music game, improving recommendations, expanding radio options, and introducing Artist TV.

April-May 2019: Our beautiful new interface, UNO, premieres on our big screen apps, blazing the trail for all other apps to follow, while Apple announces it is shutting down iTunes.

June 2019: Avengers: Endgame becomes the world’s highest-grossing film, overtaking Avatar and earning $2.9 billion, and Stranger Things 3 smashes viewing records for Netflix.

August 2019: The Streaming Wars begin. As more and more streaming services are announced, we stake our claim as one place for the media you care about, announcing partnerships with several major studios to provide free, ad-supported movies and TV shows (coming SOON!).

November 2019: As we look back, we also look ahead… reliving the last decade gets us more and more hyped up for the next one. So, join us in celebration as we continue on our road to become the only streaming platform you will ever need! #plexforlife

The Story of Plex

The last 10 years have been a wild ride, and we are so glad you’ve been along for it. Cheers to the next 10, and the 10 after that!!

A decade of thanks

As a thank you to all you Plex Pass holders, check back over the next 10 days for chances to win exclusive prizes!! We will be giving away hardware and goodies that correspond to each of our 10 years of existence—each day represents one year and each giveaway shares a connection to that year.

To enter, simply comment on each day’s Facebook post with your favorite Plex memory, the story of how you discovered us, or a pic of your setup—anything that shows your love for Plex. Winners will be selected each day and announced at the end of the 10 Days. Have a monthly or annual sub? Every day for the next ten we will be giving a lucky holder of each a free upgrade to Lifetime!

(Some users have had trouble accessing the Facebook links; if you do, please head to our page and look for the appropriate day’s post!)

1

November 22, 2019
2009 - 2010

Swaggy Server Kit

This day's giveaway has ended, but don't fret, there's another giveaway happening November 23rd at 12:00 am PDT.

2

November 23, 2019
2010 - 2011

iPad Pro

This day's giveaway has ended, but don't fret, there's another giveaway happening November 24th at 12:00 am PDT.

3

November 24, 2019
2011 - 2012

LG Smart TV

This day's giveaway has ended, but don't fret, there's another giveaway happening November 25th at 12:00 am PDT.

4

November 25, 2019
2012 - 2013

Roku Ultra

This day's giveaway has ended, but don't fret, there's another giveaway happening November 26th at 12:00 am PDT.

5

November 26, 2019
2013 - 2014

Chromecast + Smart TV

This day's giveaway has ended, but don't fret, there's another giveaway happening November 27th at 12:00 am PDT.

6

November 27, 2019
2014 - 2015

Amazon Fire TV Cube

This day's giveaway has ended, but don't fret, there's another giveaway happening November 28th at 12:00 am PDT.

7

November 28, 2019
2015 - 2016

Apple TV

This day's giveaway has ended, but don't fret, there's another giveaway happening November 29th at 12:00 am PDT.

8

November 29, 2019
2016 - 2017

NVIDIA SHIELD + DVR Setup

This day's giveaway has ended, but don't fret, there's another giveaway happening November 30th at 12:00 am PDT.

9

November 30, 2019
2017 - 2018

Sonos Move

This day's giveaway has ended, but don't fret, there's another giveaway happening December 1st at 12:00 am PDT.

10

December 1, 2019
2018 - 2019

Bose Headphones

This day's giveaway has ended and, unfortunately, we've come to the end of the road. Thank you to everyone who participated!