What to Watch

What What to Watch does

What to Watch is a consumer-facing digital entertainment media brand operated by Future Publishing Limited, a subsidiary of Future plc, the publicly listed UK media group. The publication provides editorial coverage of television shows, movies, streaming services, and live sports for US and UK audiences through whattowatch.com and regional edition variants. Core content categories include a UK TV Guide, streaming service guides (Netflix, Apple TV Plus, Disney Plus, Prime Video, Paramount+), TV show reviews and recaps, soap opera coverage (EastEnders, Emmerdale, Coronation Street, Neighbours, Home and Away), movie reviews, and sports streaming guides for events such as the FIFA World Cup and The Ashes.

The underlying platform is a standard digital publishing CMS served via Future plc's content infrastructure (cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net), with no proprietary technology, APIs, SDKs, or AI components disclosed. Content is organized into topical sections (TV Shows, Movies, Soaps, Sports, Reviews, Watching Guides) and supplemented by email newsletters and social distribution channels.

The business model is entirely free to the consumer and monetized through two revenue streams: programmatic and direct advertising, and affiliate referral commissions generated when readers purchase streaming subscriptions or related products via outbound links. Distribution is digital-only, relying on organic SEO traffic, email newsletter engagement, and social shares, with no paid subscription product, mobile app, or direct e-commerce offering.

Name

What to Watch

Legal name

Future Publishing Limited

Website

https://whattowatch.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

What to Watch is a Future plc-owned digital entertainment media brand that publishes TV, movie, streaming, soap opera, and sports viewing guides for US and UK audiences, monetized through advertising and affiliate commissions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Bath

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Advertising: The site displays advertising and sponsored content to generate revenue from its entertainment media audience.
2. Affiliate Marketing: The site earns affiliate commissions through links to streaming services and products ('When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission').

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

What to Watch is a digital entertainment media publication that provides TV show recommendations, movie reviews, streaming service guides, TV schedules, soap opera coverage, and entertainment news. The site publishes daily editorial articles, watching guides with cast and release information, and how-to-watch content for major streaming platforms (Netflix, Apple TV Plus, Disney Plus, Prime Video, Paramount+) across US and UK editions.

Product overview

What to Watch is a digital media publication that serves as a comprehensive entertainment guide for US and UK audiences. The core offering is a content publication website (whattowatch.com) that provides TV show recommendations, movie reviews, streaming service guides, and TV schedules. The site organizes content across multiple sections including a UK TV Guide, TV Shows, Streaming Services Hub, Movies, Soaps, Sports, and Reviews. Additional features include Watching Guides (detailed show pages with cast, plot, and release information) and email newsletters. The publication covers major streaming platforms such as Netflix, Apple TV Plus, Disney Plus, Prime Video, and Paramount+. The company also operates regional editions for US and UK markets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• What to Watch A free digital entertainment publication providing TV show recommendations, movie reviews, streaming service guides, TV schedules, sports coverage, and entertainment news for US and UK audiences. Organized into dedicated sections for TV Shows, Movies, Soaps, Sports, Streaming Services, and Reviews.
• What to Watch Newsletter Email newsletters delivering the latest TV news, reviews, and unmissable series recommendations to subscribers. Includes the general What to Watch weekly newsletter and What to Watch Soapbox, a soap opera-specific newsletter covering EastEnders, Emmerdale, Coronation Street, and other soaps.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• IMDb: Amazon-owned entertainment database and editorial platform with ratings, reviews, and where-to-watch features. Far larger scale, but overlapping recommendation and discovery functionality.

Direct peers

• Decider: Streaming-focused editorial site covering 'what to watch' recommendations, new releases, and where-to-watch guides. Direct competitor in the streaming editorial niche with similar content-led GTM.
• Metacritic: Editorial reviews and aggregated critic scores for movies, TV, and music. Comparable function as a reviews/scores platform, though with broader entertainment coverage.
• JustWatch: Streaming aggregator and search engine that helps users find where to watch movies and TV across services. The most direct competitor to What to Watch's 'where to watch' value proposition, with both editorial and productized discovery features.
• TV Guide: Iconic TV listings and editorial publication with streaming-recommendation coverage. Shares the same editorial-listings-reviews structure as What to Watch and competes in the same 'what should I watch' intent.
• Rotten Tomatoes: Major entertainment editorial platform offering movie and TV reviews, critic scores, and 'where to watch' guidance. Directly comparable editorial function to What to Watch, though at much larger scale with strong brand recognition.
• Screen Rant: Large entertainment editorial publication covering TV, movies, and streaming with news, reviews, and where-to-watch content. Competes for the same SEO-driven entertainment audience.
• What's on TV: UK TV listings magazine and website operated within Future plc's portfolio. Closest peer — sister publication under the same Future Publishing umbrella — with overlapping editorial scope and cross-promotion linkages.

Emerging players

• Reelgood: Streaming aggregator that helps users find where movies and shows are available across services. Smaller and more product-focused than What to Watch, but addresses the same discovery use case.
• Common Sense Media: Entertainment recommendation and review platform with a family/parent focus. Partial overlap on 'what to watch' recommendations, but differentiated by age-appropriate editorial guidance.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/whattowatch
• Facebookfacebook.com/whattowatch
• Instagraminstagram.com/whattowatch
• Pinterestpinterest.com/whattowatch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/whattowatch

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about What to Watch