pluto tv business plan

How Does Pluto TV Make Money? And Who Owns It Now?

Executive Summary:

Pluto TV is a streaming platform that serves live television and on-demand video content free of charge.

Pluto TV makes money by showing commercials within the video content or when switching between channels. Consequently, Pluto TV relies on an advertising-based business model.

Founded in 2013, the company has risen to become one of the leading over-the-top streaming platforms. In January 2019, Pluto TV was acquired for $340 million in cash by Viacom , which owns it now.

What Is Pluto TV?

Pluto TV is an over-the-top ( OTT ) streaming platform that allows users to consume live television and video content on-demand.

Users can access the content free of charge (instead of paying for a monthly subscription ). Pluto TV is supported via ads that are served within the video content.

Users, in fact, don’t even have to register an account. As such, the experience is similar to cable television.

Pluto TV partners with over 250 premium content providers, including Bloomberg, MTV, CNN, Lionsgate, or Sky to serve its ad-supported content.

Users can choose from hundreds of free TV channels, which offer more than 100,000 hours of content.

Accessible categories include news, live sports, movies, reality tv shows, documentaries, and many more.

Users can also sign up for an account with Pluto TV, which gives them special features designed to make the experience more convenient. One of these is the ability to set favorite channels and watch a program on a different device.

Pluto TV can be accessed via the platform’s website, its mobile phone apps (available on Android and iOS devices), or other streaming devices like the Amazon FireTV, Google’s Chromecast, or Roku .

A Short History Of Pluto TV

Pluto TV, headquartered in Los Angeles, California, was founded in 2013 by Tom Ryan (CEO), Ilya Pozin, and Nick Grouf.

Prior to launching Pluto TV, all three founders held various executive roles at established companies as well as their own startups.

Grouf, who is a founding investor of Pluto and served as the firm’s CEO in its first few months, graduated from Yale and Harvard in the early 1990s.

After stints at McKinsey and Goldman Sachs, he went on to start Firefly, a company developing personalization technology that could predict a consumer’s taste based on previously gathered preferences. In 1998, the business was acquired by Microsoft.

He then went on to start PeoplePC, which was a collective buying company that lends out electronics products (mostly desktop PCs) to companies like Ford or Delta Airlines. The company IPO’d in 2000 and was sold to Earthlink 2 years later.

A year later, in 2003, he started Spot Runner, a platform that allowed businesses to create and air personalized ads in their local TV markets. He eventually left Spot Runner in 2011 to start his own VC fund Clementine Capital, which became one of the early investors in Pluto TV.

Tom Ryan, on the other hand, possessed years of experience running other people’s businesses. He held executive roles at Virgin Mobile, EMI Music, and Threadless, where he served as CEO before starting Pluto TV.

The strong founding team was complimented by Ilya Pozin who immigrated to the United States from Russia when he was 8 years old. Pozin started his first company, Ciplex, in 1999 while attending high school.

After graduating from college in 2005, Pozin moved to Los Angeles to focus on Ciplex full-time. At Ciplex, he was building websites and apps for other businesses. He eventually grew the company to over $5 million in revenue and eventually sold it.

He then went on to launch Open Me, a social greeting and gifting company that was, amongst others, backed by Ryan’s Threadless. Pozin eventually sold the company for $6 million to Rowl.

In fact, Pozin was the one who came up with the initial idea for Pluto TV. One day, he struggled to keep his 2-year old daughter entertained so he did what any responsible parent would do: navigate to YouTube.

While trying to find suitable Elmo videos for her, he quickly realized that it was extremely hard to find suitable clips to watch. That got him wondering: why isn’t there a service that bundles the best content together and displays it without having to spend unnecessary time searching around?

After raising some initial money, including Nas’ Queensbridge Venture Partners, UTA CEO Jeremy Zimmer, and Omnicom Digital CEO Jonathan Nelson, the team started to work on Pluto TV in 2013. The cash injection allowed them to hire 30 full-time employees.

A year later, in March 2014, Pluto TV was finally unveiled to the public. The service started with close to 100 channels, with content manually curated by 15 full-time employees. These content curators would literally watch videos all day and select the best ones to be displayed on Pluto’s live TV channels.

Two months after launching the platform, the company announced that Tom Ryan would take over responsibilities as CEO while naming Vibol Hou, former Spin Media vice president of engineering, as CTO.

To cap 2014 off, Pluto TV raised its first major round of venture capital funding. USVP, United Talent Agency, Sky, Chicago Ventures, and more invested a total of $13 million into the firm’s Series A.

The company’s momentum carried over into the next months and years. It added more channels and content to its platform as well as more capital to its balance sheet.

One major breakthrough came when, in May 2017, Pluto TV finally added on-demand videos to its offering. Prior to the announcement, it only served live television content. Now, users would be able to stream movies, TV shows, and other content on demand.

The continued growth led to Pluto’s acquisition in January 2019. Viacom announced that it would acquire Pluto TV for a combined $340 million in cash. The acquisition was of particular strategic importance for Viacom which had struggled with moving its content assets online (and, as a result, suffered from declining viewership).

Being acquired by a big media conglomerate allowed Pluto TV to instantly add dozens of new channels to its platform, including BET Pluto TV, Comedy Central Pluto TV, MTV Pluto TV, Nick Pluto TV, and many more.

Furthermore, it would create so-called ‘pop-up channels’ which served exclusive content for a selected time period, such as the MTV show The Hills.

Another major steppingstone became Pluto’s launch in Latin America. It first launched Spanish television content in the United States and then, in April 2020, launched in 17 Latin American countries, including Argentina, Chile, Columbia, Peru, and more.

The strategic importance of Pluto TV was underlined when Ryan, in October 2020, was named CEO of Streaming for ViacomCBS (in which he also oversees the launch of Paramount+ in 2021). CBS and Viacom initially merged their businesses in December 2019, forming one of the world’s biggest media companies.

Going forward, Pluto TV remains focused on adding new content and markets to its platform. Throughout 2021, the company expanded into new markets such as France (January) and Italy (October). It also added new channels to the countries it already operates.

Not everything was always going according to plan, though. In September 2021, the FCC fined ViacomCBS $3.5 million for accessibility rules violations by Pluto TV. Luckily, growth for Pluto TV remained undeterred.

It continued on its road to expansion, for example by announcing a partnership with Google Live in December 2021.

Today, Pluto TV is available in 24 countries across the globe. More than 50 million users access the service every month.

How Does Pluto TV Make Money?

Pluto TV makes money via advertising. These commercials are shown whenever you switch channels or within the content itself. Consequently, Pluto TV relies on an advertising-based business model.

The length of commercials is dependent on the types of ads served as well as its medium. When switching channels, ads normally last for 30 to 60 seconds while in-content (for instance within movies) can last up to 3 minutes.

Pluto generates revenue whenever an ad is shown to the user (also called an impression ). The money is then shared with the owner of that content.

The actual revenue share is dependent on the agreement between Pluto TV and the firm it licensed the content from. For reference: creators on YouTube receive 55 percent of all revenues while YouTube (or Google, for that matter) gets to keep the remaining 45 percent.

In the case of Pluto TV, it normally agrees to equal revenue splits, meaning the content owner gets 50 percent of the ad revenue while Pluto gets to keep the other half.

Advertising on Pluto TV (compared to traditional linear TV) offers better trackability for its advertising partners, which allows them to measure their return on investment. This is particularly true whenever a user chooses to register an account with Pluto TV.

In the past, there had been some speculation about new revenue streams, including the sales of anonymized data as well as the launch of a premium subscription. None of these have been confirmed though.

Other companies in the industry, such as Plex , Roku, and Tubi TV , have relied on similar monetization methods to get their respective businesses off the ground.

Pluto TV Funding, Revenue & Valuation

According to Crunchbase , Pluto TV has raised a total of $51.8 million across 6 rounds of venture capital funding.

Notable investors include Samsung Ventures, LionTree Partners, Luminari Capital, Third Wave Digital, ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE, and many more.

The last time Pluto’s valuation was disclosed was when its business was acquired by Viacom for a combined $340 million in cash.

In June 2021, ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish disclosed that Pluto TV was on track to exceed $1 billion in total ad revenue for the fiscal year 2021. The CEO expects Pluto TV to be “be comfortably above $1 billion for full-year 2022,” he said during Evercore investor conference.

Who Owns Pluto TV?

Pluto TV is fully owned by ViacomCBS. Viacom, in January 2019, announced that it would acquire 100 percent of the company for $340 million in cash.

Pluto TV, based on that price tag, represents less than one percent of ViacomCBS’ market capitalization, which is currently valued at $58 billion. It can, nonetheless, be assumed that Pluto’s valuation has substantially increased ever since.

The reason for its valuation increase is the revenue that Pluto TV has since been able to generate. As previously stated, the company generated more than $1 billion in revenue for 2021.

ViacomCBS has now a strong foothold both in the FAST (free, ad-supported streaming television) as well as subscription-supported market (vis-a-vis its ownership of Paramount+).

Viktor Hendelmann

Hi folks, Viktor checking in! Years of experience in various tech-related roles have led me to start this blog, which I hope provides you with as much enjoyment to read as I have writing the content.

About productmint

productmint.com provides tailored content on all things business and tech. The site arose from my fascination with how modern-day businesses utilize technology and product-led thinking to become dominant players in their industry.

Business Product Privacy Policy Terms of Service

Follow productmint

Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Buy me a coffee

Last Updated on January 6, 2023 by Viktor Hendelmann

More From Forbes

10 years of pluto tv and how the underdog became an industry leader.

Share to Facebook
Share to Twitter
Share to Linkedin

Amy Kuessner, EVP Programming, Pluto TV attends 10 Years of Pluto TV at the Dolby Terrace at the ... [+] Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, California.

Launching a product on April 1 is a gamble. Still, in the ten years since that happened, Pluto TV has gone from a potential punchline to an industry leader, proving it is not a joke and should be taken seriously.

So, how different is the platform now from when it started?

"It is night and day different," explained Amy Kuessner, Pluto TV's Executive Vice President of Programming for the free ad-supported streaming service. "I came in about a year after launch, and the concept of shifting linear TV to the internet was radical. The marketplace was going SVOD, VOD, paid with no ads, and here we were with a value proposition coming out in the market, with ads, free and linear, so it was a tough market to break through."

"When we started, we were using the YouTube API. We knew there was a ton of great content out in the marketplace, but you had to package it and make it simple and easy for users to experience. Then we started talking to all the MCNs in the marketplace so that we could start monetizing the content, and we were creating thematic channels much like we do today."

At the time, Pluto was all short-form content primarily distributed across mobile and web.

"As time progressed, we realized that monetizing short-form content was challenging, and with short-form content, you have too many breaks where users can just drop off," Kuessner continued. "Because of that, viewers weren't staying on the platform long. That evolved into us realizing that we needed more long-form content, which was going to create more of a traditional television living room experience, and to do that, we needed to shift from web and mobile to TV, which is primarily where our viewing is today. We needed to get that premium content in-house and create channels appealing to our user base."

"When I look at where we were 10 years ago, with less than 20 short-form channels, to where we are today, over 400 long-form premium content channels with suppliers from all the major studios, big distributors, big sports leagues, you name it, it's a world of difference." They also started with "two or three" curators and now have over 50.

Best High-Yield Savings Accounts Of 2024

Best 5% interest savings accounts of 2024.

Kuessner rightfully refers to Pluto TV as a "pioneer." That is not just a PR buzzword she drops; the facts and figures are there.

"We literally created the acronym FAST which stands for free ad-supported streaming television. It didn't exist ten years ago, it didn't exist five years ago, and it's a new rights class, to be honest. We were the first to capture the Nielsen gauge, the one percent of viewing across broadcast streaming and cable viewing, and were the first among our competitors to win two Emmys," the EVP explained. "We were the first company that brought NFL, Major League Soccer, Major League Baseball, BBC and CNN into this space. It took years of pitching and trying to get them on board. But we were the company that brought them into this space. We were also the first to be acquired and hit $1 billion in revenue in seven years. It's been a pretty significant change and ten years is not that long. Broadcast TV has been around for over 100 years, and cable has been around for 50 years. We are just scratching the surface of what this business could be. "

The Paramount Global Pluto TV free ad-supported streaming television service logo is displayed on ... [+] the Sphere arena in Las Vegas, Nevada in February 2024.

In January 2019, Pluto TV was acquired by Viacom for $340 million in cash, a landmark deal for the streamer. In 2020, there was the pandemic, which meant a potential whole new audience, in the habit of paying for their streaming content, was waiting. As of April 2023, Pluto TV had 80 million monthly active users.

"People were staying home, and a lot of businesses during that period were declining but, and I hate to say it because you don't want to take advantage of such an awful situation, but the pandemic helped Pluto TV," Kuessner admitted. "We made it free, easy, and accessible. TV shouldn't be difficult. We want, and still want, consumers to know that they can have a laid-back, linear experience. Turning the TV on and being programmed to, not having to think about all these different options you can possibly get on VOD, appealed."

What about the perception that, because it is free, Pluto TV is a lesser product than a premium streamer you have to pay a monthly or annual subscription to access?

"With the acquisition, the access to the content that we've been able to get from Paramount has just been a pivotal moment for us. We have hundreds and hundreds of TV series, everything from NCIS to CSI to Love and Hip Hop to Basketball Wives and thousands of top-quality movies like The Godfather and the Indiana Jones franchise," the executive enthused.

"Paramount brings a healthy chunk of premium content to our platform, but we are also a third-party platform, and we will always be that, so we're getting healthy amounts of content from our third-party providers as well. Because of our size, scope, scale, and how we curate our channels, they often bring content to us first, before it even goes to our competitors, to see how we can work together on a unique window or an exclusive event. It has been really powerful."

It's that curation that has really come into play, living up to Pluto's 2023 branding campaign, 'Programmed By Humans and TV The Way It Should Be. '

"Content and programming is my group so I'd be remiss if I didn't talk about how programming is our superpower. Nobody in the industry does it quite like Pluto," Kuessner enthused. "Our human curators are truly what makes us special. What does curation mean? We like to say it's the perfect marriage of art and science, and art in a way that allows each curator to be creative and add their personal touch and expertise to the channel. Many of our curators are fans of the genres they curate, and the science is that we're using real-time data. The beauty of the digital world is that you get instantaneous feedback, and you can make changes on demand. Still, we're looking at our data daily, weekly, and monthly to ensure that we're programming the best experience for our users."

For Pluto TV, curation isn't just a model or an idea; it has attributable names and faces.

"Anime, albeit a smaller category in the well over 20 that we have on our platform, drives huge engagement from our users. So, one of our curators called Nikki is a self-named otaku, which means someone who's a very rabid fan of anime, created an entire presentation on why we need to go after additional anime categories and channels because of this huge engagement," Kuessner revealed. "Who would have thought? I never knew that there are six different anime subgenres."

"This is all stuff that I'm learning, too. There's sci-fi anime, like Ghost in the Shell; classic anime like Cowboy Bebop; a dark, more thriller kind of anime like Death Note; and then there's something called Shojo, which is a magical romance anime, including a series called Cardcaptor Sakura. In just one genre, that's a perfect example of how we use the best of art and science to develop our platform."

However, while the personal touch is invaluable, and programming to pop culture trends and events, the data remains a critical factor in deciding what shows come and go and when.

"We have franchised channels, like a CSI or Dr. Phil . We used to start with a baseline of the 100 hours we needed for a channel. Now, that baseline is about 300 hours," she explained. "The content rotation on that channel just depends on the overall success and viewership with that channel. If you have a very high-impact channel and a lot of viewership, you'll burn through that content pretty quickly. We will see that right away because of the channel's performance, whether it's minutes per user, frequency of people coming back, or just total engagement, and you will see that decline over time. That is a key data point for us whether we need a refresh or add more content and bring new series in."

One area where Pluto TV has acquired a unique positioning in the streaming market is its synergy with Paramount Global stablemate Paramount+.

"A lot of people ask me about how we cross-pollinate. We're one of the only services with a free and paid ecosystem, and we work together to cross-market both platforms. A couple of examples would be that if they have a brand new original coming out, such as last month's A Gentleman in Moscow , we will debut season one episode one on Pluto TV over a couple of days on a certain channel, and then we'll kick it over to Paramount+," Kuessner said. "If it's an existing original like Evil , which has season four coming out in May, we will debut the entirety of season three on Pluto TV. Even beyond the sampling, we also get carve-outs from our linear networks. For example, for one of the biggest TV series of all time, Yellowstone , we get a carve-out from the Paramount network to Pluto TV, and that's not even on Paramount+. Still, we have seasons one through four, a couple of times a year that we start, and that is a compelling hook to get audiences in the door."

Ten years in, something else Kuessner gives credit to as an incentive for content partners to work with them rather than their competitors is how they split the revenue. For many years, Pluto TV has primarily operated a 50/50 model, but will that continue for the former underdog start-up, which is now an industry leader and part of a larger company?

"It's something that provides a healthy margin, and it was a great advantage when we launched the business because having a pure revenue share business was one of the reasons we succeeded," she reflected. "We have a blend of business models today, but most deals are probably 50/50. As the space develops into an increasingly competitive space, it might not make sense for Pluto to do those types of deals in the marketplace where all our competition gets the same content. It's an ongoing thing, as you might suspect, but we feel like due to our size, scope, and scale, these existing relationships that we've had, and being the pioneers, that that we will succeed."

(Left to right) Matt McMahon, SVP Global Streaming Strategy & Operations, Paramount+ & Pluto TV, Amy ... [+] Kuessner, EVP Programming, Pluto TV, Elizabeth Wright, EVP & CFO DTC Segment, Paramount, Tom Ryan, CEO, Paramount Streaming and Co-Founder & CEO, Pluto TV, Vibol Hou, Chief Production & Technology Officer, Pluto TV, Erin Calhoun, EVP, Head of Communications, Paramount Streaming & Showtime and Cross-Company Publicity, Jeff Grossman, EVP Programming, Paramount+ and Domenic DiMeglio, EVP and CMO, Paramount Streaming attend 10 Years of Pluto TV at the Dolby Terrace at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, California.

With a decade in the books, Pluto TV's international footprint now extends across four continents and over 35 territories; the future looks bright for the streamer despite dark clouds and turbulence in the sector.

"FAST is clearly now and the future. We are scratching the surface of what this business could be," Kuessner enthused. "In 2023, we ended the year on a global basis with seven billion total viewing hours, a key metric many of these different platforms use in terms of measurement. A third of that came from international. From 2022 to 2023, we grew 40 percent in total viewing hours, so something we're doing is right and on target; people enjoy the content. Not only that but they're coming back for more."

She believes future success lies in Pluto TV's six core strengths, which continue to define and differentiate the company. These include the aforementioned Paramount library and the user experience.

"We're constantly innovating and iterating, and we want to ensure we get users to the content they want and as quickly as possible. That involves creating new categories and collapsing certain categories, and products and technology enhancements will continue to evolve, she said, adding that they have come a long way in terms of search and personalization mechanisms.

A jewel in Pluto TV's crown is the rollout of the Home section on CTV, also known as Connected TV. It is effectively a branded app on a television.

"The last thing is leading distribution, which sets us apart from the market. We have over 30 different distribution partners here domestically, and that grows to 70 globally. Distribution gets us users. Those users find content that they love, so consumption increases. Consumption brings us impressions, and then impressions pique the interest of advertisers, and they want to bring their spends from linear to digital and to Pluto TV," Kuessner concluded.

"We're one of the only companies that does integrated distribution, and we paved the way in 2018. The CTV companies out in the marketplace, from Samsung, one of our early investors, to Vizio and LG, get a package of hand-selected Pluto channels that they put onto their platform, and there's usually a Pluto-branded space. We see that as a massive growth opportunity for our company."

"Finding new audiences and exposing new generations to our product will be critical to Pluto TV's growth. We have a whole foreign programming aspect to our business, but there are a lot of audiences out there in the market that we still need to capture, and that's a huge opportunity. We already see in the data that we over-index tremendously with African Americans, so we have created an entire initiative around that called the Black Collective, about 18 different channels that we sprinkled throughout our dial that are very targeted towards this audience, and we're going to be creating more channels as time progresses. We also want to take advantage of these pop culture moments in time, and we're looking to lean into that and make it a more significant part of our programming strategy in years to come."

Editorial Standards
Reprints & Permissions

Join The Conversation

One Community. Many Voices. Create a free account to share your thoughts.

Forbes Community Guidelines

Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space.

In order to do so, please follow the posting rules in our site's Terms of Service. We've summarized some of those key rules below. Simply put, keep it civil.

Your post will be rejected if we notice that it seems to contain:

False or intentionally out-of-context or misleading information
Insults, profanity, incoherent, obscene or inflammatory language or threats of any kind
Attacks on the identity of other commenters or the article's author
Content that otherwise violates our site's terms.

User accounts will be blocked if we notice or believe that users are engaged in:

Continuous attempts to re-post comments that have been previously moderated/rejected
Racist, sexist, homophobic or other discriminatory comments
Attempts or tactics that put the site security at risk
Actions that otherwise violate our site's terms.

So, how can you be a power user?

Stay on topic and share your insights
Feel free to be clear and thoughtful to get your point across
‘Like’ or ‘Dislike’ to show your point of view.
Protect your community.
Use the report tool to alert us when someone breaks the rules.

Thanks for reading our community guidelines. Please read the full list of posting rules found in our site's Terms of Service.

an image, when javascript is unavailable

Paramount Streaming CEO Tom Ryan on Pluto TV Turning 10, What’s Next for Paramount+ and More: Streaming Biz Is ‘Underestimated by the Market’

By Todd Spangler

Todd Spangler

NY Digital Editor

Apple Unleashes iPhone 16, Its First Smartphone Built for AI 3 hours ago
DirecTV Files FCC Complaint Accusing Disney of Negotiating in Bad Faith as Blackout of ESPN, ABC Drags On 1 day ago
DirecTV Tells Customers It’s Hiking Prices Next Month, Coming Amid Blackout of ESPN, ABC and Other Disney Nets 2 days ago

Tom Ryan co-founded the free, ad-supported streaming service Pluto TV , which launched 10 years ago with a linear TV-like grid and a cluster of “live” channels stocked with online videos. Viacom, one of Paramount Global ’s two predecessor companies, acquired Pluto TV for $340 million in cash in January 2019. Ryan stayed on board as chief exec of Pluto, and in October 2020 he assumed leadership for the parent company’s entire streaming operations , including CBS All Access, which relaunched as Paramount+ in early 2021.

Popular on Variety

Why Studios Still Haven’t Licensed Movies and TV Shows to Train AI

Prosecutor Kari Morrisey leaves the witness stand after calling herself as a witness during the Rust trial at District Court on Friday, July 12, 2024. Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case against Baldwin.

'Rust' Judge Denies Prosecutor's Move to Reopen Alec Baldwin Case on Procedural Grounds

“I think we’re still scratching the surface,” he said in an interview with Variety . Pluto TV has major potential to expand internationally with its integrated distribution model, he said: “It’s really a universally appealing product around the world.”

As for the Paramount+ side of the house, which has soaked up billions of dollars of investment and remains unprofitable, Ryan disputes Wall Street naysayers who believe the subscription play is a lost cause. Does it make sense to shut down Paramount+ and cede victory to Netflix, Disney and Amazon? “I fundamentally disagree with that analysis,” he said. (Ryan, by the way, declined to discuss the M&A talk swirling around Paramount Global .)

Here’s a transcript of Variety ’s interview with Ryan, edited for length and clarity:

Take us back to the beginning of when you were part of the founding team at Pluto TV. What was the original vision for the service?

At what point did the light bulb go off and you were like, “Hey, we can bring premium TV [content] to this thing?”

So we launched this, again, April Fools’ Day 2014 and we were excited by the progress. The viewership was better than it was on other similar services serving up that type of content. However, we couldn’t monetize through the YouTube API. So we started to license similar content directly from [multichannel networks]. The MCNs were looking for additional distribution channels. They didn’t want to be just on YouTube and beholden to YouTube alone. So a lot of them were willing to license their content to us even though we didn’t have a big user base or any real revenue.

There’s some things from back then that still work well today on Pluto, things like FailArmy, and we still have our Cats 24/7 channel , for example. But by and large, we couldn’t build a sustainable business on web and mobile with short-form curated channels, and we needed to get into longer-form, more traditional TV programming. Even when we did that, we found that on web and mobile it was much more difficult to monetize because you couldn’t get people to truly lean back and watch in the way in which we hoped people would watch to allow for sufficient monetization.

Ten years ago, the model for free, ad-supported TV was already well established, with broadcast TV Why was there skepticism in the early days that Pluto could become a viable outlet for premium content that was totally free?

I think a few reasons. As all startups do, you sort of launch a product with a thesis and some of that thesis turns out to be right. Some of it turns out to be wrong, and you learn and iterate, and hopefully you can find a way to a sustainable business. But you know, with Pluto, I think we were partly a victim of our initial [minimum viable product feature set] in that we didn’t become known as a true [free, ad-supported streaming TV] player really for another couple of years, because that’s when we moved to the living room and really had a broader array of channels that were traditional long-form TV programming that viewers could lean back and enjoy.

But I’d say probably the biggest thing was just the general conventional wisdom, back in the day, that everyone believed the future of streaming would look like Netflix, where it would be subscription, no advertising and on-demand. And here we were, as this company where we were linear in the age of on-demand. We were ad-supported at a time when people thought ads would not exist on streaming.

So at some point you caught the attention of Viacom and [CEO] Bob Bakish. How did that all come together?

You could have cashed out [after Viacom bought Pluto TV] and done something else. Why did you stay?

Because first of all, Pluto’s my baby. I love seeing it grow. And you know, we grew the business significantly in that time… Taking it to over a billion-dollar business in just a few short years was for me, very gratifying. Our last reported [monthly active user] number, which was about nine months ago, was 80 million. So scaling a service to that level for me was particularly attractive. So No. 1 was, I wanted to continue to grow what I had started. Two was, I had stood up and sold my team on why this was the right partner. And I still believe that was absolutely the right partner for us to work with. And I wasn’t going to just, you know, jump ship immediately after the deal closed. And then lastly, I really appreciated Bob’s approach as an executive in the media business and someone who really wanted to partner with me to turn Viacom into a streaming player and then ultimately Paramount into a streaming player.

How has Pluto changed in the past decade?

It’s vastly larger, it’s global, it is really a force to be reckoned with in streaming. We’re the only FAST player that’s announced profitability. The only one that’s announced, to my knowledge, that we crossed a billion in revenue. We scaled this business really quickly, and it’s now a central part of our overall Paramount streaming business, which as we reported recently delivered $6.7 billion revenue in 2023. We use both Paramount+ and Pluto TV symbiotically to feed off of each other and to help build each other. And so it’s become a really big, global business that I’m very proud of, and I’m so grateful for the team that I’ve got around me that has helped me bring it to that point.

What are the synergies between Pluto and Paramount+? How are you trying to optimize those?

Yeah, we continue to optimize those. Pluto is a huge funnel for brand awareness and ultimately subscription consideration for Paramount+ because we promote Paramount+ not just with advertising on Pluto but also with dedicated channels that include Paramount+ content. We also have brought Pluto-style channels into Paramount+. Being able to bring Paramount+ original programming in front of the pay window on Pluto has been great for Pluto audiences, and being able to promote back for subscription consideration from Pluto to Paramount+ has proven to be very effective. And we’re taking the learnings of the best of each product and trying to apply it to the other. So there’s a bunch of things that we’re doing on the data side between the platforms, there’s a bunch of things that we’re doing just in terms of technology and feature sets.

How do you decide what content goes on which service?

The company has said Paramount+ is expected to be profitable in the U.S. by the end of 2025. What are the key factors to achieve that?

Listen, we’re only three years in the market with Paramount+. It’s kind of hard to believe. It feels it feels like longer. But you know, we’ve been in the market for three years, we’ve achieved 67.5 million subscribers [as of the end of 2023]. In such a short period of time, you know, it’s been quite staggering. So it’s really driving subscribers, driving ARPU [average revenue per subscriber] and being able to leverage our cost base more effectively. When you just zoom out a little bit in our streaming segment, direct-to-consumer revenue in 2020 was $1.8 billion. As I mentioned, we closed out ’23 at $6.7 billion and we hit our peak investment year ahead of expectations. So we are very rapidly bridging the gap here to deliver a very successful streaming business that I feel is underestimated by the market.

[Paramount Global CFO] Naveen [Chopra] suggested on the Q4 call that there’s going to be an $800 million content write-down in the first quarter , out of a $1 billion total one-time charge. How is that going to affect Paramount+ and Pluto?

I mean, I feel we’re very well positioned given the content offering that we have on both services to compete. We wouldn’t be announcing things like we announced at earnings if I didn’t feel that way.

Some analysts have said, “You know, Paramount Global should shut down Paramount+” and become an arms dealer [selling content] to other platforms. You’ve heard this. The theory is that you simply can’t get the scale to compete globally with Netflix or Disney+. Why is that wrong?

I think I just explained why. We just grew from $1.8 billion to $6.7 billion in three years. Pluto’s a key part of that segment; it has been profitable for a few years. Paramount+ is going to be domestically profitable next year, and we’re going to get this segment profitable [overall] after that. And so I fundamentally disagree with that analysis.

What’s next for the business? Where is the growth going to come from?

On the global side [with Pluto] — and this is one of the things when I look back at what’s changed so much — we’re in over 35 markets. And when you think about FAST, it’s free television. As I look out into the future, it’s really a universally appealing product around the world. There’s huge headroom here in the U.S. for FAST. I think we’re still scratching the surface. But globally, we already see a third of our viewership coming from outside of the U.S., and we’re just getting started there. We’ve got really strong partnerships where we’re able to go in with the best-of-breed local partner. They bring local content, local ad sales and local marketing ability and we bring our global technology and product platform with Pluto, all of our Paramount Global content and together we’re able to really accelerate FAST in a particular market.

You’ve touted Pluto’s integrated distribution strategy. What does that look like, how did it come about?

We basically knew when we were building Pluto that this was going to be a highly competitive market and that there were going to be a lot of different players who would want to get into it. Most notably, with the connected TV platforms like Roku, Samsung, Vizio, LG, etcetera, we decided it was better to join them in order to grow Pluto than to try to just build our business independently. And so Pluto really started focusing on helping these platforms launch their own their own FAST platforms from very early on. Getting a large portion of Pluto into every major connected TV platform… that’s not picked up by things like Nielsen’s Gauge [viewer measurement report for the U.S.]. So I feel we’re underrepresented there. If you look at our total viewing hours, about a third of our total viewing hours are coming from this integrated distribution strategy that we pioneered and which continues to be a growing, important part of our business today.

Over the long term, does Pluto have better margins than a subscription VOD service like Paramount+?

Well, FAST is a more capital-efficient business. We pioneered the 50-50 rev-share model that everyone generally uses now in the category. And so it’s no coincidence that a little start-up was the company that was able to actually pioneer and popularize this whole new category of streaming because it is much more capital efficient. Whereas yeah, a paid streaming service needs to invest, you know, billions of dollars in original programming if you’re going to be at a mainstream-scale offering from the get-go before you have any subscribers. That’s really much more of a fixed-cost approach than a variable-cost approach. FAST is much more of a variable-cost approach, which is why we were able to build it as a little start-up and then scale to what it is today. [With SVOD] it’s basically getting enough subscribers paying you enough money to more than offset your content and marketing and of course team costs, but it’s really content and those content costs are pretty fixed and you only start really getting leverage over those once you hit a certain subscriber number, which is why we’re so excited that we’ve already gotten to 68 million subscribers in three years. You guys have done a couple of bundle deals with Paramount+. Are the subscriber dynamics different? Is that strategy going to continue?

Yeah, we’ve got hard bundle deals with the likes of Sky and Canal+ in Europe, we’ve got the Walmart+ deal here in the U.S. Bundling has been a big part of how we’ve grown Paramount+ over the years. So we’re absolutely going to continue bundling. The advantages of each bundle are different, and it depends on the dynamics of how the customer accesses the app, or the content, who the partner is, etcetera. So there’s too many variables to just give a one-size-fits-all response except to say that in many cases the advantages that you can get from having a bundled partnership are that your customer-acquisition costs can approach, or even be, zero — because the partner is acquiring the customer for you, and those bundled customers can be quite sticky because they’re part of a larger bundle.

We don’t have any plans to announce right now regarding that.

Why do you think Netflix did that?

You’d have to ask Netflix.

OK, fair enough. Well, Tom, thanks again. And I guess you’re going to stick around for another 10 years, at least?

[ Laughs ] I’m enjoying what I’m doing, so I hope to continue building Pluto TV and Paramount+ long into the future.

SEE ALSO: What’s Next for Paramount? Shari Redstone Has a Preferred M&A Path

Now dig into a data-fueled VIP+ subscriber report …

More from Variety

Himesh Patel, Elizabeth Olsen, Alicia Vikander and Fleur Fortune at the Variety TIFF Studio during the Toronto International Film Festival 2024 on September 8, 2024 in Toronto, Canada.

How IVF and Fertility Struggles Inspired Elizabeth Olsen and Alicia Vikander’s Offbeat Psychological Thriller ‘The Assessment’

snapshot of the data contained in the article

Content Owner Lawsuits Against AI Companies: Complete Updated Index

First Look at TIFF Sales Drama ‘Really Happy Someday’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Andrew Garfield, Elizabeth Olsen, Barry Keoghan and More Toast Female Filmmakers at the Variety and Chanel Dinner at TIFF

A white flag with a play button standing in ruble

The Postwar Streaming Market: A Special Report

‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Actor Max Minghella on His Sophomore Dark Comedy ‘Shell’ With Kate Hudson and Elisabeth Moss: ‘It Was Filled With Things That I Didn’t Think That I Would Respond To’

More from our brands, chester bennington’s son slams linkin park’s new lineup: ‘we trusted you to be the bigger better person’.

Forget the Velvet Rope. Private Members’ Clubs Are Booming—and They Want You Inside.

NLL Inks On-Field Apparel Deal With Castore

The Best Loofahs and Body Scrubbers, According to Dermatologists

James Earl Jones Dead at 93

site categories

Oprah to host “unite for america” virtual event for kamala harris next week, breaking news.

Pluto TV Reaches $1 Billion Annual Revenue Milestone A Year Ahead Of Schedule

By Dade Hayes

Business Editor

'Harbin' Star Hyun Bin And Director Woo Min-Ho Talk Burden And Joy Of Making A Historical Epic -- Toronto

2024-25 Awards Season Calendar - Dates For Oscars, Emmys, Grammys, Guilds & More

Pluto’s free, ad-supported offering is now available in 25 countries around the world and has 52 million active users each month, per the latest stats today from ViacomCBS. It was the leading contributor to a 102% year-over-year surge in overall streaming revenue at the company during the quarter.

Watch on Deadline

“We’re incredibly excited and proud,” said Tom Ryan , CEO of streaming at ViacomCBS and a co-founder of Pluto, in an interview. “We scaled it from a contrarian idea to over a billion dollars in revenue in seven years.”

Pluto started out as an early player in ad-supported video on demand, or AVOD , before adding live channels and an on-screen programming guide to replicate the traditional TV viewing experience. The more than 200 live, linear channels on Pluto have been a key element in the traction it has gained with both viewers and advertisers. The channel offerings are curated versions of what is available via the traditional pay-TV bundle, and show- or character-centric channels devoted to Survivor or James Bond joining network fare.

As with subscription sibling Paramount+, live sports and news are foundational elements of Pluto and have helped it increase average view time by 45%.

“A lot of the power of live has traditionally not been taken advantage of in streaming,” Ryan said. As in the traditional pay-TV realm, “people tend to gravitate to a handful of channels they love” on Pluto, Ryan said, but because the “cost point is zero … people do love channel-surfing.”

In the merged company, which is looking to work the synergy levers, Pluto has become a “very effective front porch” for funneling viewers to Showtime, CBS and other platforms. Episodes of series as well as library films are offered on the Paramount Pics Showtime Selects channels on Pluto. Ryan said those offerings are “among the highest performers on Pluto, generating significant leads” for customer acquisition. The platform has even exceeded YouTube, which is usually the most potent driver of subscriptions.

Must Read Stories

Creative arts emmys winners list: ‘shōgun’ sets record as fx dominates.

Oprah Winfrey To Host “Unite For America” Virtual Event For Kamala Harris

Breaking baz on ‘assessment’; ‘wild robot’ review; tribute awards; more, sequel scares up $111m opening after big sunday; global $147m, read more about:, subscribe to deadline.

Get our Breaking News Alerts and Keep your inbox happy.

Today's news
Reviews and deals
Climate change
2024 election
Newsletters
Fall allergies
Health news
Mental health
Sexual health
Family health
So mini ways
Unapologetically
Buying guides

Entertainment

How to Watch
My watchlist
Stock market
Biden economy
Personal finance
Stocks: most active
Stocks: gainers
Stocks: losers
Trending tickers
World indices
US Treasury bonds
Top mutual funds
Highest open interest
Highest implied volatility
Currency converter
Basic materials
Communication services
Consumer cyclical
Consumer defensive
Financial services
Industrials
Real estate
Mutual funds
Credit cards
Balance transfer cards
Cash back cards
Rewards cards
Travel cards
Online checking
High-yield savings
Money market
Home equity loan
Personal loans
Student loans
Options pit
Fantasy football
Pro Pick 'Em
College Pick 'Em
Fantasy baseball
Fantasy hockey
Fantasy basketball
Download the app
Daily fantasy
Scores and schedules
GameChannel
World Baseball Classic
Premier League
CONCACAF League
Champions League
Motorsports
Horse racing

New on Yahoo

Privacy Dashboard

Pluto TV Reaches $1 Billion Annual Revenue Milestone A Year Ahead Of Schedule

EXCLUSIVE: Pluto TV, which was founded in 2014, has become a $1 billion-a-year business a year ahead of schedule.

The Definitive Voice of Entertainment News

Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter

site categories

How pluto tv is gaining market share (without ordering original shows or movies).

Paramount’s free, ad-supported service hit 72 million active users in the third quarter and is leveraging CBS’ library content to aim for up to 120 million monthly users before 2025.

By Caitlin Huston

Caitlin Huston

Business Writer

Share on Facebook
Share to Flipboard
Send an Email
Show additional share options
Share on LinkedIn
Share on Pinterest
Share on Reddit
Share on Tumblr
Share on Whats App
Print the Article
Post a Comment

THR Newsletters

More from The Hollywood Reporter

Jorge ramos to exit univision at end of year, rupert murdoch’s news corp succession plan challenged by hedge fund, directv files fcc complaint accusing disney of negotiating in bad faith as blackout continues, directv and disney offer dueling discounts as carriage dispute war of words escalates, paul harrell, youtube gun safety advocate, announces his own death in video message, the hollywood labor chief pay chart: top union leaders’ compensation revealed.

Search for movies, TV shows, channels, sports teams, streaming services, apps, and devices.

Pluto TV Review

Ad-Supported
No Offline Downloads

Pluto TV is a free live TV streaming service that provides more than 350 channels of live TV and thousands of on demand movies and TV shows.

Most of what you’ll find on Pluto TV qualifies as “background television.” It’s fine to keep on while you’re scrolling on your phone or cooking something in the kitchen.

Because these aren’t traditional live TV channels, it’s not a great option for live events, news, or sports, but it’s a solid choice for cord cutters who want to supplement their other services with some “comfort food” TV. You’ll find channels dedicated to “Star Trek,” “CSI,” “Jersey Shore,” “Survivor,” and “The Amazing Race.”

Pluto TV News

We tested Pluto TV and other subscription streaming services for more than 100 hours. Pluto TV is compatible with Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Roku, Android TV, iPhone/iPad, Android Phone/Tablet, Mac, Windows, PlayStation, LG Smart TV, Samsung Smart TV, Sony Smart TV, and VIZIO Smart TV.

On demand TV shows are essentially the same offered on Paramount-owned linear channels. If it aired on CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, or BET, there’s a chance you’ll find reruns on Pluto TV. You’ll see a lot of older shows like “The Nanny,” “Party of Five,” “Deal or No Deal,” “The Carol Burnett Show,” “Becker,” “Melrose Place,” “MacGyver,” and “Three’s Company.”

There’s also a ton of reality programming on demand, like “Survivor,” “Bridezillas,” “Four Weddings,” “Kitchen Nightmares,” “I Love New York,” “Fear Factor,” and “American Pickers.”

You’ll be able to watch some local news from CBS affiliates in markets like New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh.

Pluto TV features movies from major studios that are available on demand or on their linear streaming channels.

While there is a fair amount of B-movie dreck, there are some gems available. As of this writing, Pluto TV offers on demand aces like “Titanic,” “Forrest Gump,” “Saving Private Ryan,” “Beverly Hills Cop,” “A League of Their Own,” “Anchorman,” and “Footloose.”

The service has dedicated live-streaming channels for action, comedy, drama, romance, documentary, westerns, and horror movies.

Pluto TV does have a decent selection of family movies and shows. Popular movies include “The Secret of NIMH,” “The Black Stallion,” “Ernest Goes to School,” and “A Turtle’s Tale.”

Cartoons include “Garfield Specials,” “Super Wings,” “Street Sharks,” and “Bananas in Pyjamas.”

Compatible Devices

Pluto TV is compatible with these devices:

Amazon Fire TV
Google Chromecast (Google Cast)
iPhone/iPad
Android Phone/Tablet
PlayStation
LG Smart TV (AirPlay)
Samsung Smart TV
Sony Smart TV
VIZIO Smart TV

Pluto TV is not compatible with Xbox , Nintendo , or onn devices.

Pluto TV is great for fans of retro TV. Here are some shows that have their own dedicated 24/7 channels:

“Beverly Hills 90210”
“Nashville”
“Baywatch”
“Degrassi: The Next Generation”
“Star Trek: The Next Generation”
“The Dr. Oz Show”
“The Price is Right”
“Hell’s Kitchen”
“Survivor”
“The Amazing Race”
“Wings”
“Mystery Science Theater 3000”
“Happy Days”
“Family Ties”
“Dr. Who”

Other channels rotate around a specific theme. TV Land Sitcoms shows a selection of classic comedies, MTV Dating rotates through reruns of all that channel’s dating shows, and Nosey shows daytime tabloid TV.

Local Channels

Pluto TV offers limited local coverage in the form of its CBSN channels. It has a channel for 10 different regions:

Dallas-Fort Worth
Los Angeles
Philadelphia

Top Cable Channels

Pluto TV does offer some variations of top cable channels, but they’re often watered-down versions of the real thing. Its CNN channel offers a few headlines, but not as much coverage as the real thing. Stations like Sky News, Bloomberg Television, and NBC News Now are as close as you’ll come to the feel of a traditional live cable channel.

Cartoon Network
Comedy Central
Disney Channel
Disney Junior
Food Network
Hallmark Channel
Investigation Discovery
Nickelodeon
Paramount Network
Travel Channel
USA Network

Sports Channels

Pluto TV does have several sports channels, but they are mostly filled with recaps or documentaries. There are dedicated channels for MLB, NFL, PGA, and MLS.

College Sports

There are channels dedicated to the PAC 12 and Big Sky conferences.

ACC Network
ACC Network Extra
Big Ten Network
CBS Sports Network
SEC Network

Other Sports Channels

Pluto TV has a lot of channels dedicated to fighting sports like boxing or MMA. It does televise live Bellator MMA matches.

beIN Sports
Next Level Sports
Fox Soccer Plus
Golf Channel
Tennis Channel

Stereo Sound

Content has stereo audio.

DIRECTV STREAM Cash Back

Let us know your e-mail address to send your $50 Amazon Gift Card when you sign up for DIRECTV STREAM.

You will receive it ~2 weeks after you complete your first month of service.

Offer Terms

Only valid for new DIRECTV STREAM subscribers.
Only valid once per household.
You must pay and maintain service for at least one month to be eligible.
Purchase must be completed on the DIRECTV STREAM website.
You’ll receive gift card 4-6 weeks after purchase (~2 weeks after your first month).
Cannot be combined with any other promotion and won’t be eligible if you try to use a coupon code or cash back from another site.

Sling TV Cash Back

Let us know your e-mail address to send your $25 Uber Eats Gift Card when you sign up for Sling TV.

Only valid for new Sling TV subscribers to Sling Orange, Blue, or Sling Orange + Blue.
You must click from The Streamable and complete your purchase on the Sling TV website.

Hulu Live TV Cash Back

Let us know your e-mail address to send your $35 Amazon Gift Card when you sign up for Hulu Live TV.

Only valid for new Hulu Live TV subscribers.
You must click from The Streamable and complete your purchase on the Hulu Live TV website.

Is Pluto TV for Sale? It Could Be Challenging for Paramount

Pro Available to WrapPRO members

The free, ad-supported streamer could fit well in Skydance Media’s “tech hybrid” strategy, analysts tell TheWrap

Is Pluto TV for sale?

The current leaders of Paramount Global reaffirmed their plan to sell assets as recently as this month’s second quarter earnings call. But the presumptive new owner of the company — Skydance Media — may have something else in mind.

Paramount’s Office of the CEO —who are in charge, for now — has made clear that assets with ties to the declining linear TV ecosystem would be put on the chopping block as the company looks to reduce $14.6 billion in long-term debt and boost its flagging stock price.

“The set of assets that make up Paramount Global today were built up through the rise of linear,” Chris McCarthy, one of the company’s three co-CEOs, said on Aug.

Viacom’s Acquisition of Pluto TV and the Promise of a Free Streaming Future

Capitalizing on the growing ad-supported streaming market to create more value from existing IP.

By Nicole Bitette

In the ever-shifting ecosystem of streaming video, ad-supported platforms offer content creators and audiences something new: premium content for free. Of course, it’s a model pioneered by television broadcasters ages ago, but in the streaming economy, it’s a relatively rare alternative to the subscription model.

The most recent indication of this trend was Viacom’s agreement to acquire Pluto TV, the leading free service in the U.S. The deal marks a significant moment in Viacom’s evolution. At $340 million, it’s the company’s largest digital deal to-date and will expand Viacom’s distribution and advanced advertising capabilities with a direct-to-consumer platform that’s already operating at scale and is known for delivering quality programming and a “lean-back,” TV-like channel-surfing experience. It also makes Viacom a player in the $8 billion ad-supported streaming market, which is expected to double in size in the next five years.

“Our strategy is fundamentally to grow the presence of our IP into as many places as possible to create value,” said Viacom President and CEO Bob Bakish in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Wednesday morning. “We’re tremendously excited about Pluto TV. It's a differentiated asset in the marketplace, it supports Viacom’s strategy on multiple levels, and, when we look at the deal, we think it’s a tremendously attractive financial expression … This company is worth multiples of what we paid. That's the type of M&A we are focused on, and we think it is extremely value-creating.”

Ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) services give consumers a no-cost alternative to OTT subscription services and cable bundles. It’s a fast-growing corner of the streaming market, especially as content creators work to find new ways to reach audiences across devices without cannibalizing their audiences on other platforms. Earlier this year Amazon launched an ad-supported video channel, IMDb Freedive, and Comcast announced plans to launch a free streaming service for its pay-TV subscribers in 2020.

"While peers are fiercely going head-to-head in the OTT/DTC subscription space, [Viacom] is jumping into a white space on the ad-supported side – and this is the only comprehensive free service where people are actually watching on big screen TV sets," wrote media analyst Marci Ryvicker of Wolfe Research in a note to clients. "Bottom line, Pluto is another means of moving [Viacom]’s innovative strategy forward – with collective incremental revenue streams becoming a needle-mover."

“In some respects, we're zigging as everyone is zagging,” said Bakish during an interview with CNBC . “The market is segmenting. The vast majority of subscribers continue to be at the mid-to-high price point in the basic cable sector. You have more mid-pricepoint $40-45 segments. You’ve got SVOD players now in the teens, and of course, then you’ve got free … From a Viacom strategy standpoint, we love how this fits in.”

For Viacom, free streaming TV is a way to reach a broader audience in a way that will provide more value to its advertising partners. The acquisition means that Viacom will have a direct connection to Pluto TV’s 12 million monthly active users and will be able to monetize billions of high-quality addressable advertising impressions. Viacom can sell this new ad inventory to external advertisers and agencies, as well as use it to market its subscription products and content. As Adweek reported , the acquisition could draw additional consumers to NOGGIN and Comedy Central Now, and also segue into distributing content from Viacom Digital Studios.

According to The Wall Street Journal , “acquiring Pluto TV will allow Viacom to increase the digital audience for its programming, while giving the owner of networks such as Nickelodeon and MTV instant scale for its online advertising business.”

"This is an ad-supported platform that can work with [distributors'] broadband-only subscribers … We think that’s tremendously exciting and the next leg in our distribution strategy."

The deal should also be a boon to Viacom's relationships with MVPDs like Comcast and AT&T. "Pluto offers Viacom another avenue to expand their carriage negotiation conversations with distributors," as BTIG media and tech analyst Rich Greenfield pointed out in a recent blog post.

“We not only license them linear content and on-demand content, we now have advanced advertising partnerships with the biggest distributors in the country and, in some cases, have entered into co-production,” said Bakish during his CNBC interview. “Now you bring Pluto to the table. This is an ad-supported platform that can work with their broadband-only subscribers … We think that's tremendously exciting and the next leg in our distribution strategy.”

Another notable aspect of Pluto TV: its audience is young, valuable, and increasingly hard-to-reach. “Over half of [Pluto TV’s user base] is 18 to 34. That's a very attractive audience,” Bakish said during his CNBC appearance. “It is clearly supplemental and incremental to the viewership” of cable.

More than half of Pluto TV’s active users watch on connected TVs, a user base that grew 70% in the last quarter of 2018. It’s also available on desktop, mobile, gaming consoles, and streaming players. (It’s the #2 free app on Roku.) Its content library, which already features Paramount Pictures films and an AwesomenessTV channel, includes more than 100 channels and an on-demand library of more than 5,000 hours.

Viacom doesn’t plan to create original content for Pluto TV; instead, it will distribute content from its library. Viacom began limiting the library content licensed to subscription streaming services a couple of years ago, leaving plenty of content to put in the Pluto TV pipeline. Its current cable programming will remain in the pay-TV ecosystem on its branded networks.

As well, Viacom will continue to develop global episodic and first-run content for subscription streaming platforms, which Bakish has outlined as part of the company’s continued turnaround strategy. "The company has also rebooted its TV production business to take advantage of the growing appetite for more content ... helping it add $400 million in revenue last year,” according to The New York Times report on the Pluto TV acquisition .

The Pluto TV app will continue to evolve, with planned ad-free subscription and Spanish-language versions, enhanced personalization and content feeds, and expansion into new markets. “Viacom’s portfolio of global, iconic brands and IP, advanced advertising leadership and international reach will enable Pluto TV to grow even faster and become a major force in streaming TV worldwide,” said Pluto TV CEO and co-founder Tom Ryan in a statement .

The purchase of Pluto is the latest in a string of strategic acquisitions that have expanded Viacom’s business in areas such as influence marketing (WHOSAY), streaming video production (AwesomenessTV), and live events (Vidcon).

Additional reporting contributed by Stuart Winchester.

Pluto TV Review 2022: Everything you need to know

What is Pluto TV?

Pluto TV is one of the most popular free alternatives to cable. The free over-the-top (OTT) streaming service launched in 2014 and was acquired by Viacom in 2019. Viacom has expressed interest in expanding Pluto TV into more of a competitive force in the streaming market, but for now, the free service works as a way to market Viacom’s other services like CBS All Access .

Watching Pluto TV is as easy as pulling up your browser or accessing the Pluto TV app. As long as you have a stable internet connection, you can enjoy the service. That means you can view Pluto TV across your devices, simultaneously with friends, and with a decent interface — all without paying a dime.

Pluto’s free streaming service reaches over 22 million monthly viewers . Its viewers have access to over 200 channels, including Viacom properties like Comedy Central, MTV, and Nickelodeon. Other noteworthy content providers like A&E Networks, CNN, Nerdist, and WeatherNation TV have also partnered with the service. Pluto TV will not serve as a complete replacement for cable or work as a one-size-fits-all streaming solution, but that is okay. Pluto TV works well as a supplement to other streaming services like Amazon Prime and Netflix, giving you the best of both worlds.

Pluto TV plans and pricing

Pluto TV offers tons of video-on-demand (VOD) entertainment, and it does not even require you to set up an account to get started.


	Free
	100+
	1,000+
	No
	No
	SD and HD

Pluto TV supported devices

The Pluto TV app gives you the ability to stream content from a variety of devices. Just like its for-pay competitors, you can watch Pluto TV as long as you have internet access.

Android devices
Android TV
Amazon Fire TV
Desktop browser
iOS devices
PlayStation 4

What to watch on Pluto TV

The service offers a large number of channels, serving much like a traditional TV service. Popular featured content appears on Pluto TV channels like Food TV, Funny AF, Man Up, and Pluto TV Movies.

Here are some of the most popular genres on the service:

Entertainment
Life + Style
Sports

As a free service, Pluto TV relies on partnerships from both its parent company and others for its content. If you are a casual TV watcher, you will find plenty of recognizable channels sandwiched in between interesting selections like PocketWath , Red Arrow Studios , and Shout! Factory .

As far as on-demand sports go, DAZN Fight Zone appears in Pluto TV’s On Demand section. The Joshua vs. Ruiz fight from 2019 is viewable in its entirety with commercial breaks. Pluto TV is not known for exclusive content, but there is one show that appears solely on its platform. The fourth season of the semi-scripted comedy series led by Paul F. Tompkins, Bajillion Dollar Propertie$. The series previously streamed on NBC’s Seeso service before Pluto TV licensed it after an online campaign generated lots of interest.

Pluto TV’s movie collection also includes a variety of on-demand films — and its selection is particularly robust, especially for a free service. It features several popular titles like Capote , Big Fish, and The Terminator .

Pluto TV features

Closed captioning.

Since Pluto TV is free, its standout features are simple but essential. Its closed captioning capabilities stack up well against paid services, letting you adjust the font color, font type, size, and opacity of the captions.

Picture Quality

Information about Pluto TV’s video quality is vague at best. Its mobile app has three video resolutions you can choose from: low, medium, and high. But whether it is 720p or anything below is anyone’s guess. Generally, there is some variation in visual performance between live and on-demand content, with the latter being a more stable option.

Web Player and Playback

Its web player is impressive for a free service. Shows, channels, and on-demand content are accessible through detailed categories and sideways scrollable playlists. Pluto TV’s playback controls allow you to fast forward and rewind 10 seconds either way. Pluto TV does not have any storage features, which is not surprising since it is a free service. But once you start a show or movie, you can jump back in where you left off.

The final cut

When it is all said and done, Pluto TV is free and worth a try. You can watch movies and shows on your laptop or PC via a web browser — you will just have to sit through a few commercials. With Pluto TV, you might not get Monday Night Football or specific shows on the History Channel, but you will have plenty to choose from, including options such as American Gladiators, Married with Children, Tosh.0, Death at a Funeral, True Romance, and Saw: The Final Chapter . The service is not a great option if you are looking for a complete cable replacement option. But if you are in search of a free cable alternative or a service that could complement your Netflix or Amazon Prime Video subscription, Pluto TV has a large catalog of movies and channels to keep you entertained.

Pluto TV was ranked our best free service for live TV, check out the full list of best free streaming services here !

Disclaimer: To address the growing use of ad blockers we now use affiliate links to sites like http://Amazon.com , streaming services, and others. Affiliate links help sites like Cord Cutters News, stay open. Affiliate links cost you nothing but help me support my family. We do not allow paid reviews on this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Please select all the ways you would like to hear from :

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. For information about our privacy practices, please visit our website.

We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp’s privacy practices here.

The Leading Source of Insights On Business Model Strategy & Tech Business Models

Pluto TV Revenue

Pluto TV’s revenue in 2020 was $0.56 billion.
In 2021, the revenue almost doubled, reaching $1.06 billion, which indicates a significant improvement in the platform’s financial performance .
The growth trend continued, albeit at a slower pace, in 2022, with revenue rising to $1.11 billion, representing an increase of about 4.7% compared to the previous year.

Related To Paramount

Paramount Revenue

Paramount Profits

Paramount Revenue Streams

Paramount+ Subscribers

Paramount+ Revenue

Paramount Content Monetization

Paramount Brands

More Resources

About The Author

Gennaro Cuofano

Discover more from fourweekmba.

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Type your email…

Business Models

Pluto TV: App, channels, guide and how to activate

Everything you need to know about the free streaming service Pluto TV

Pluto TV is one of several FAST streaming options. What is that exactly, you ask? FAST stands for free ad-supported streaming television .

Yes, that's right. Pluto TV is totally free. In fact, it's one of the best free streaming services out there. With your traditional streaming services getting more and more expensive after a series of price hikes, people are opting more often for these free alternatives to save some money. And most of them are definitely worth it if you're sick of subscriptions.

While there are some drawbacks — you typically miss out on the latest hit shows and movies, though Amazon Prime Video's Freevee does make original content — there are some positives too. Pluto TV and other free streaming services give you hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of free TV and movies .

That's one area where Pluto TV really excels. It's owned by Paramount, so you get access to thousands of episodes from iconic shows like Cheers, Frasier, and Star Trek, in addition to Paramount Studios' deep content library of movies. You can also watch from a ton of places around the globe, as Pluto TV currently operates in the U.S., as well as parts of Europe (including the Nordics), Latin America, and Brazil.

In short, Pluto TV is a great way to cut the cord for free. So with that all said, here's everything you need to know about the Pluto TV free live TV streaming service.

What is Pluto TV?

Pluto TV is an "over-the-top" (OTT) service, which means it comes through the internet (like Netflix ) rather than on dedicated lines or over the air. It's also an advertiser-supported video on demand service (or AVOD). That puts it in the same bucket as streaming services like Crackle, Sling Free , and Tubi (which is now available in the U.K. )

To use Pluto TV, you can stream it on the Pluto website or download the app to any of the many devices supported by the service.

Sign up to get the BEST of Tom's Guide direct to your inbox.

Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.

So, what makes Pluto TV one of the best free streaming services? Read more below.

Pluto TV free package (with ads)

Yes, seriously: Pluto TV is absolutely free, even though it's hard to believe. You don't even need to register with an email address and you don't have to input any credit card information. Just fire up Pluto's website or the app, and you can start watching shows and movies immediately without the hassle.

You can opt to register for a Pluto TV account, which gives you special features like the ability to designate favorite channels and resume watching a program on a different device.

This is all made possible by Pluto airing commercials during shows. This service generates revenue through advertisements, which are shown during programming. Generally, the experience is similar to watching cable TV. A half-hour show typically has about four commercial breaks, with each break consisting of several 20-30 second ads.

Pluto TV channels and shows

Pluto TV's channels are divided into sections such as Featured, Entertainment, Movies, Sports, Comedy, Kids, Latino and Tech + Geek.

There are versions of top cable networks like MTV but generally, Pluto TV channels aren't the ones you'd find in a standard cable or satellite package.

The News channels are names that you know — CNN, NBC News, CBS News, etc. — but mostly, they play curated, pre-recorded clips instead of a live stream of the network.

Similarly, the Sports channels are ones you've heard of, like Fox Sports, NFL Channel, PGA Tour and Major League Soccer. However, you can't really watch live sports on Pluto; those channels play past games, highlights or analysis.

Pluto's TV shows are mostly older sitcoms and reality shows that are generally found on other free streaming services, like Hell's Kitchen, Roseanne and The First 48.

Pluto TV app and supported devices

The Pluto TV app is available on devices including web browsers as well as many major smart TVs, smartphones and streaming boxes and sticks.

Android mobile and tablet
Apple iPhone and iPad
Apple TV (4th Generation)
Amazon Kindle/Fire Tablets
Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick
Roku devices and Roku TVs
Google Chromecast
TiVo Stream 4K
Android TV (various)
Web browsers
PlayStation (PS4 & PS5)
Xbox (One, Series X, and Series S)

Pluto TV reviews

While there aren't a ton of Pluto TV reviews out there, the ones that exist are mostly positive about the free TV streaming service.

PC Mag says, "Pluto TV is a potentially viable solution for people who don't want to completely close the door on cable, but more importantly, don't want to pay for the privilege." Their review cautions potential users, "Anyone looking for a viable replacement to cable with an internet-based live TV service may be underwhelmed by Pluto TV." They think the service could use a bit of a redesign, too, saying, "Pluto TV needs to polish its interfaces and channel guides. The omission of DVR features is notable too, but not surprising given that it is free."

Clark.com says, "If you have decided that you’re going to quit paying for cable TV and subscription streaming services, I think Pluto TV needs serious consideration as a part of your free streaming content mix. There is a strong selection of cable-worthy content on this platform and the barrier to giving it a trial run is extremely low."

Homeowner.com also says, "As to be expected, Pluto TV does have a lot of ads, especially compared to paid streaming platforms like Amazon Prime Video. Commercial breaks are about as frequent as with cable TV and can get repetitive. But, for many viewers, this is a small price to pay for having so much free content available at their fingertips."

Pluto TV movies on demand

Yes, Pluto has thousands of movies on-demand and airing live on themed Movies channels, ranging from genres (Drama, Romance, Horror) to '80s Rewind and Black Cinema.

Pluto TV movies made up of older titles that were moderate hits back in their day. Recent selections included Shaft, Addams Family Values, The Rainmaker, Airplane, Clue, Road to Perdition and First Wives Club.

Pluto TV internet speed requirements

Pluto TV doesn't provide specific guidelines about internet speed for its service. In its help section, the company says, "Having a fast connection (faster than 5mb) is certainly important, but having a 'stable' connection can be just as important, so that super fast WiFi connection drops out for a 1/2 second and that will cause playback issues."

MORE: How Much Internet Speed Should You Really Pay For?

Can Pluto TV replace cable?

You may be wondering, "Can I use Pluto TV to replace cable?" The answer is: Sort of. Pluto TV provides some programming you may enjoy, if you're satisfied with older movies and shows. However, it doesn't completely replace cable. Pluto TV is more suitable as an addition to on-demand streaming services, particularly since it lacks many popular cable channels and local affiliate channels from major broadcast networks.

But if you want a true cable TV replacement, you will need to supplement Pluto TV with other streaming services.

Best streaming devices

Kelly is the streaming channel editor for Tom’s Guide, so basically, she watches TV for a living. Previously, she was a freelance entertainment writer for Yahoo, Vulture, TV Guide and other outlets. When she’s not watching TV and movies for work, she’s watching them for fun, seeing live music, writing songs, knitting and gardening.

Alix Blackburn Staff Writer, Streaming

7 best shows about school to stream now

5 best new movies to stream this weekend on Netflix, Max, Prime Video and more

Honeywell 50 Pint Dehumidifier review

Yasonrad I cut the cord back in early March 2020. I've been watching and using Pluto nearly daily. The only problem with the free streaming service is the programming rotation. So far it has been my experience that if you watch the same channels a lot during the same time each day, you'll watch the same episodes each day of the week because they don't seem to rotate the programming and simply run on the same clock every single day of the week. Reply
willysmccoy Am I the only one who's Pluto tv rewinds 3 to 5 minutes every 10 to 15 minutes ? No search feature. Pluto tv commercials about what's on never says what channel it's on. I bet the suits that run Pluto never watch it. Reply

Yasonrad said: I cut the cord back in early March 2020. I've been watching and using Pluto nearly daily. The only problem with the free streaming service is the programming rotation. So far it has been my experience that if you watch the same channels a lot during the same time each day, you'll watch the same episodes each day of the week because they don't seem to rotate the programming and simply run on the same clock every single day of the week.

admin said: Our pCNoaUbHg3SSkDcVGuuFaPe to Pluto TV has everything you need to know about the free live TV streaming service. Pluto TV guide: app, channels, reviews and how to activate : Read more

View All 4 Comments

Pluto TV guide: Channels, packages, sign up, and more

Here is everything you need to know about Pluto TV, a totally-free live TV streaming service.

What is Pluto TV?

Where is pluto tv available, what devices support pluto tv.

What's streaming on Pluto TV?
How do you sign up?

Pluto TV provides viewers with a variety of live programming, as well as on-demand movies and television series, at zero cost. And while the streaming platform might seem too good to be true, it's not. Here's all you need to know about Pluto TV, from which channels you find and how you can start streaming immediately.

All the shows, movies, and sports you want for free Pluto TV provides access to the best in free movies, television, and sports. Browse live channels, watch on-demand movies, and more

Pluto TV is a free live-stream television and on-demand video service owned and operated by Paramount Streaming, a division of Paramount Global. It offers more than 250 unique ad-supported live channels and thousands of movies and TV shows that you can stream on-demand.

Pluto TV is currently available in the United States, most of Europe and Scandinavia, the United Kingdom, Australia, Latin America, and Brazil.

The service is also available in Canada, but it has limited programming due to existing program rights held by domestic broadcasters. The Latin American version of the service launched in 2020 and now offers 80 channels in Spanish and Portuguese.

Since launching in 2013, the number of devices that support Pluto TV has only increased. Here's a list of some of the best streaming devices on the market right now that are also compatible with Pluto TV:

Platform	Pluto TV
Android phones/tablets	✔️
Android TV	✔️
Chromecast	✔️
iOS & iPadOS	✔️
Apple TV (with tvOS 13 or above)	✔️
Fire tablets	✔️
FireTV devices	✔️
Roku (select models)	✔️
Xbox One/X/S	✔️
PlayStation 4/5	✔️
Oculus	✔️
TiVo	✔️
Nintendo Switch	❌
Smart TVs	SamsungVizio SmartCastLGHisenseXfinity

In addition to the devices above, Pluto TV hooked up with Google TV in late 2021, adding more than 300 free channels to its live tab. Simply install the Pluto TV app from your Google TV home page, or follow the steps in our how-to guide .

Pluto TV is also accessible on all major browsers, including Safari, Chrome, and Firefox. Additionally, Pluto-operated channels are offered through The Roku Channel's live TV section.

Be an expert in 5 minutes

Get the latest news from Android Central, your trusted companion in the world of Android

What's streaming on Pluto TV

Pluto TV offers roughly 250 virtual "channels," which serve as hubs for similar content and are presented via a cable TV-like interface. Some of the most popular Pluto-curated channels include Star Trek (150), Stories by AMC (135), Degrassi (144), CBS News (204), Hell's Kitchen (294), Classic Doctor Who (532), Survivor (296), CSI (355), Mystery Science Theater 3000 (488), and the NFL channel (708).

Pluto TV also takes things a step further by bundling curated channels under the following categories for easy browsing: Movies, Entertainment, News + Opinions, Reality, Crime, Comedy, Classic TV, Home + DIY, Explore, Sports, Gaming + Anime, Music, En Español, Kids, and Local. Beyond the themed channels, Pluto TV offers a selection of local and cable channels. While the channels offered on Pluto TV vary by region, here's a roundup of channels you'll likely have access to:

Bloomberg Television
Cartoon Network
Comedy Central
Discovery Channel
Eleven Sports
Fox Business
Hillsong Channel
Nickelodeon
Professional Bull Riders' Ride Pass
Trinity Broadcasting Network
USA Network
WeatherNation TV

As mentioned above, among the channels offered by Pluto TV is Eleven Sports. However, some events offered on the channel may be replaced with alternative programming due to streaming rights restrictions in your region. Additionally, Pluto TV gives streamers access to a handful of AVOD services, including Nosey, NBC News Now, ABC News Live, Cheddar News, TYT Network, and People TV.

How does Pluto TV compare?

When comparing Pluto TV to other streaming platforms, there are various things to consider, including price and the type of content offered. Along those lines, NBC's Peacock streaming service , Sling TV, and YouTube TV are probably the best alternatives.

If you're looking for another streaming platform that's both free and offers a wide variety of films and television series, then Peacock is a strong contender. At this time, Peacock offers three subscription tiers, including a free option. However, most live content is restricted to Peacock's Premium and Premium Plus tiers, which cost $4.99 and $9.99 per month, respectively. It's also worth pointing out that live programming is limited to live sports events and WWE pay-per-view events.

Although Sling TV isn't free, the platform offers a good mix of live and on-demand content and two different plans, which start at just $35 per month. Sling Orange features 32 live channels, including ESPN, CNN, BBC America, and AMC. Meanwhile, Sling Blue includes 42 live channels, including some of the channels featured as part of Sling Orange, as well as selections like BET, Bravo, and Cartoon Network. Sling Blue also allows subscribers to stream on up to three devices simultaneously. You can also choose to subscribe to both Sling Orange and Sling Blue for a combined fee of $50 per month. All three plans are currently offering a 3-day free trial , which gives you a chance to explore the service with no risk involved.

By comparison, YouTube TV usually costs $64.99 per month, but they're currently offering a deal that lets you enjoy 85 broadcast and cable networks — including ESPN, HGTV, BET, and TNT — for a discounted price of $54.99 for the first three months. YouTube TV also has the added benefits of unlimited cloud DVR storage and an impressive lineup of live sports coverage, as well as a variety of premium cable channel add-ons.

How do you sign up for Pluto TV?

At this time, viewers are not required to sign up for an account to stream content on Pluto TV through mobile, streaming devices, and web applications. This means you don't have to submit personal email or credit card information on the Pluto TV website or in the Pluto TV app, and you can start streaming immediately.

Pluto TV - 100% free live movies, series, news, and more

Pluto TV allows you to watch tons of episodes of your favorite television series for free. You'll also find movies spanning romance, horror, action, and more.

Keegan Prosser is a freelance contributor based in the PNW. When she's not writing about her favorite streaming apps and devices for Android Central, she's listening to a true-crime podcast, creating the perfect playlist for her next road trip, and trying to figure out which fitness tracker she should try next. You can follow her on Twitter @keeganprosser .

Patrick Farmer eCommerce Editor

XGIMI’s new home projectors come with Google TV and Netflix built right in

XGIMI MoGo 3 Pro review: Raising the bar for portable projectors

Don't forget what else you need as you head back to school

Viacom's CFO explains why Pluto TV is the 'perfect complement to Netflix' and worth $340 million

Viacom paid $340 million for Pluto TV because it sees a big market for free, ad-supported video, chief financial officer Wade Davis said.
People are getting subscription fatigue and just want to be entertained, he said.
Pluto took in less than $100 million last year, but Viacom sees it becoming a billion-dollar business.

For all the hoopla around Netflix and Hulu, there's a big, untapped market for free, ad-supported video. That's why Viacom bought Pluto TV, Wade Davis, chief financial officer of Viacom, told Business Insider.

Viacom paid $340 million for Pluto TV, a leading ad-supported streaming service. Six-year-old Pluto TV claims 12 million monthly active users, up from 5 million in 2016, and two-thirds of them are on connected TVs. It licenses programming from 130 film and TV partners, including Viacom. Viacom sees Pluto TV as a way to make money off its archives by selling advanced TV advertising against its audience, half of which Pluto TV says is 18 to 34 years old.

Even with the buzz around Netflix and Amazon originals, people are hitting their limit for paid TV and often just want someone else to make the viewing decision for them, Davis said. That's what makes it a "perfect complement to Netflix," he said.

Read more: Big brands like Verizon and Toyota are backing Amazon's Freedive as the e-commerce giant pushes deeper into OTT advertising

"People are developing a little bit of subscription fatigue," Davis said. "A lot of what people historically want to do is they have 30, 40 minutes to kill and they just want to be entertained. Pluto, because it's this very familiar, friendly interface, is the perfect complement. There is a segment of the market that doesn't want to pay for anything, and we can be their video and entertainment choice."

Pluto TV took in under $100 million in revenue in 2018, as it just began selling its ad inventory. Still, Davis thinks the business has the potential to be much more as it ramps up its sales efforts with the help of Viacom's 600-person sales force and takes aim at YouTube and other ad-supported video services.

"We think it's more than a billion-dollar business," Davis said.

Viacom plans to roll Pluto TV out globally, starting with Spanish-language content in the US and Latin America.

The free streaming space is getting more crowded with other services coming from Amazon, Sinclair, and Comcast. But Viacom doesn't seem bothered by the competition, as Pluto TV already is a leader in users and ad inventory that's brand-safe. Davis said he even sees Viacom working with AT&T on mobile distribution for Pluto TV.

Some have sniffed at Pluto TV for its content, which boasts channels with names such as Funny AF, Monstercat TV, and Horror 24/7.

"It's unlikely you will ever find 'Game of Thrones' on Pluto TV," Bernard Gershon of GershonMedia said. "Pluto, you're not competing with Disney, Amazon, Netflix; you're competing with the Tubis, Fubos — ad-supported, lower-than-premium-quality content."

"The content is a bunch of movies like 'Legally Blonde' and 'Caddyshack' that were hits in the '80s or sitcoms that aren't 'Friends,'" said Alan Wolk, cofounder and lead analyst at TVREV. "Pluto's magic is it's a linear stream and you can also watch stuff on demand. While they are ad-supported, it's still half of what you get on linear TV."

Davis said there's "always room for improvement" in Pluto TV's offerings. "Adding our entire library is going to be significant." But, he said, as a free service, Pluto TV doesn't charge a subscription fee that it needs to justify by spending Netflix-like billions on original shows and movies.

"We're not going to enter the fray and spend billions of additional dollars a year to create original premium content," Davis said.

It makes sense for Pluto TV to take a different tack from the subscription services, said Peter Csathy, founder of media-advisory firm Creatv Media.

"Pluto's the Rodney Dangerfield of the AVOD [ad-supported video on demand] space," Csathy said. "It is kind of a potpourri of content, but Viacom hopes to bring it new life with some of its programming. Consumers have a breaking point. [Viacom] can compete and still be a winner in a sea of SVODs [subscription video on demand]. If they tried to be another Netflix, it'd be much more challenging."

Disclosure: Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, is a Netflix board member.

Watch: We talked to CFRA's media analyst about what 2018 holds for Netflix, Amazon, and Disney

Main content

Advertising & Marketing ›
Brands & Leaders

Industry-specific and extensively researched technical data (partially from exclusive partnerships). A paid subscription is required for full access.

Pluto TV advertising revenue growth in the U.S. 2019-2022

Change in advertising revenue of pluto tv in the united states from 2020 to 2022.

Characteristic	Growth rate
-	-
-	-
-	-

To access all Premium Statistics, you need a paid Statista Account

Immediate access to all statistics
Incl. source references
Download as PDF, XLS, PNG and PPT

Additional Information

Show sources information Show publisher information Use Ask Statista Research Service

United States

2019 and 2020

forecast / includes advertising that appears on desktop/laptop computers, mobile phones, tablets, and other internet-connected devices; net ad revenues after companies pay traffic acquisition costs (TAC) to partner sites

Statistics on " Ad-supported video-on-demand market in the United States "

AVOD revenues worldwide 2028, by platform
OTT video revenue in the U.S. 2023-2029
Yearly growth of video streaming segments in the U.S. 2023
Digital Market Outlook: video-on-demand user penetration U.S. 2017-2027, by type
Users of video-on-demand in the U.S. 2017-2027, by type
Digital Market Outlook: video-on-demand ARPU in the U.S. 2017-2027, by type
Scripted TV seasons released in the U.S. 2019-2023, by platform type
Amount of content users get per dollar on major AVOD services in the U.S. 2023
Cost of SVOD services with and without ads in the U.S. 2022-2024
Ad revenues of AVOD platforms worldwide 2022, by region
Connected TV ad spend in the U.S. in 2023, by company
Streaming services' advertising CPM in the U.S. 2022-2023
Frequency with which adults avoided advertising in the U.S. 2023, by selected medium
Consumer perception of the amount of ads on selected channels in the U.S. 2023
Viewers who would rather watch ads than pay more for ad-free services U.S. 2021-2023
Share of subscribers of video streaming services in the U.S. 2023, by plan type
Video streaming subscribers on ad-free, ad-based, or both plan types in the U.S. 2023
Ad-supported vs. non ad-supported streaming among CTV households in the U.S. 2023
Roku total hours streamed worldwide by quarter 2018-2024
SVOD subscriber additions in the U.S. 2022-2024, by plan type
Video streaming audience in the U.S. 2021-2023, by platform
Preference of ad-supported vs. ad-free video streaming in the U.S. 2023, by age group
Likelihood having ad-supported streaming subscription in the U.S. 2023, by generation
Time spent watching no-cost streaming apps with ads in the U.S. 2023
Interest in cheap streaming services with ads among TV viewers in the U.S. 2023
Top reasons driving interest in lower-cost AVOD in the U.S. 2023
Ideal discount for ad-supported streaming services in the U.S. 2023

Other statistics that may interest you Ad-supported video-on-demand market in the United States

Premium Statistic Global AVOD revenue 2029, by country
Premium Statistic AVOD revenues worldwide 2028, by platform
Premium Statistic OTT video revenue in the U.S. 2023-2029
Premium Statistic Yearly growth of video streaming segments in the U.S. 2023
Premium Statistic Digital Market Outlook: video-on-demand user penetration U.S. 2017-2027, by type
Premium Statistic Users of video-on-demand in the U.S. 2017-2027, by type
Premium Statistic Digital Market Outlook: video-on-demand ARPU in the U.S. 2017-2027, by type

Content & costs

Premium Statistic Scripted TV seasons released in the U.S. 2019-2023, by platform type
Premium Statistic Amount of content users get per dollar on major AVOD services in the U.S. 2023
Premium Statistic Cost of SVOD services with and without ads in the U.S. 2022-2024
Basic Statistic Video streaming services monthly subscription price in the U.S. 2023

Advertising

Premium Statistic Ad revenues of AVOD platforms worldwide 2022, by region
Premium Statistic Connected TV ad spend in the U.S. in 2023, by company
Premium Statistic Streaming services' advertising CPM in the U.S. 2022-2023
Premium Statistic Frequency with which adults avoided advertising in the U.S. 2023, by selected medium
Premium Statistic Consumer perception of the amount of ads on selected channels in the U.S. 2023
Premium Statistic Viewers who would rather watch ads than pay more for ad-free services U.S. 2021-2023
Premium Statistic Share of subscribers of video streaming services in the U.S. 2023, by plan type
Premium Statistic Video streaming subscribers on ad-free, ad-based, or both plan types in the U.S. 2023
Premium Statistic Ad-supported vs. non ad-supported streaming among CTV households in the U.S. 2023
Premium Statistic Netflix sign-ups in the U.S. 2022-2023, by plan type
Premium Statistic Roku total hours streamed worldwide by quarter 2018-2024
Basic Statistic Paid subscribers of Peacock in the U.S. 2021-2024

Consumer behavior

Premium Statistic SVOD subscriber additions in the U.S. 2022-2024, by plan type
Premium Statistic Video streaming audience in the U.S. 2021-2023, by platform
Premium Statistic Preference of ad-supported vs. ad-free video streaming in the U.S. 2023, by age group
Premium Statistic Likelihood having ad-supported streaming subscription in the U.S. 2023, by generation
Premium Statistic Time spent watching no-cost streaming apps with ads in the U.S. 2023
Premium Statistic Interest in cheap streaming services with ads among TV viewers in the U.S. 2023
Premium Statistic Top reasons driving interest in lower-cost AVOD in the U.S. 2023
Premium Statistic Ideal discount for ad-supported streaming services in the U.S. 2023

Further related statistics

Premium Statistic Netflix's annual revenue 2002-2023
Basic Statistic Online advertising revenue in the U.S. 2012-2023, by half-year
Premium Statistic Netflix's streaming content obligations 2010-2023, by type
Basic Statistic Use of a smart TV to go online in the UK 2013-2020, by age
Premium Statistic Global server shipments 2009-2012, by workload

Further Content: You might find this interesting as well

Netflix's annual revenue 2002-2023
Online advertising revenue in the U.S. 2012-2023, by half-year
Netflix's streaming content obligations 2010-2023, by type
Use of a smart TV to go online in the UK 2013-2020, by age
Global server shipments 2009-2012, by workload

COMMENTS

How Does Pluto TV Make Money? And Who Owns It Now?
Pluto TV makes money by showing commercials within the video content or when switching between channels. Consequently, Pluto TV relies on an advertising-based business model. Founded in 2013, the company has risen to become one of the leading over-the-top streaming platforms. In January 2019, Pluto TV was acquired for $340 million in cash by ...
10 Years Of Pluto TV And How The Underdog Became An Industry Leader
10 Years Of Pluto TV And How The Underdog Became An ...
How Does Pluto Tv Make Money? Dissecting Its Business Model
Join us as we dissect Pluto TV's innovative business model, understand how it generates revenue through advertising, and explore its growth strategies in the...
Pluto TV Strategy Could Boost ViacomCBS Streamer Paramount+
Sep 14, 2021, 2:48 PM PDT. Tanya Giles and Scott Reich are looking to translate Pluto TV's wins to Paramount+. Courtesy of Pluto TV. Pluto TV has more than 300 channels, programmed by a former MMA ...
Paramount Streaming CEO Tom Ryan on Pluto TV, Paramount+ and More
Paramount Streaming CEO Tom Ryan on Pluto TV Turning ...
Pluto TV Reaches $1 Billion Annual Revenue Milestone
By Dade Hayes. August 5, 2021 5:51am. AP. EXCLUSIVE: Pluto TV, which was founded in 2014, has become a $1 billion-a-year business a year ahead of schedule. The free streaming service's parent ...
Pluto TV Reaches $1 Billion Annual Revenue Milestone A Year ...
EXCLUSIVE: Pluto TV, which was founded in 2014, has become a $1 billion-a-year business a year ahead of schedule. The free streaming service's parent company, ViacomCBS, confirmed the annual ...
Pluto TV Gains Market Share Without Original Shows or Movies
How Pluto TV Is Gaining Market Share (Without Ordering Original Shows or Movies) Paramount's free, ad-supported service hit 72 million active users in the third quarter and is leveraging CBS ...
Pluto TV Review
Pluto TV is a free live TV streaming service that provides more than 350 channels of live TV and thousands of on demand movies and TV shows. Most of what you'll find on Pluto TV qualifies as "background television.". It's fine to keep on while you're scrolling on your phone or cooking something in the kitchen.
Why a Pluto TV Sale Could Be Challenging for Paramount
Pluto TV, which was purchased by predecessor Viacom for $340 million in cash in 2019, could draw interest from potential suitors such as Roku, analysts told TheWrap. But the platform is already a ...
Viacom's Acquisition of Pluto TV and the Promise of a ...
The acquisition means that Viacom will have a direct connection to Pluto TV's 12 million monthly active users and will be able to monetize billions of high-quality addressable advertising impressions. Viacom can sell this new ad inventory to external advertisers and agencies, as well as use it to market its subscription products and content.
Paramount says Pluto TV is Pulling Away from its ...
But the business is now delivering over $1 billion annually for Paramount, with executives claiming Pluto TV is pulling away from other FAST services and establishing a dominant position, at least in its home US market. And CEO Bob Bakish is positioning Pluto TV as a key part of the company's streaming strategy. The numbers.
Pluto TV Review 2022: Everything you need to know
Pluto TV is one of the most popular free alternatives to cable. The free over-the-top (OTT) streaming service launched in 2014 and was acquired by Viacom in 2019. Viacom has expressed interest in expanding Pluto TV into more of a competitive force in the streaming market, but for now, the free service works as a way to market Viacom's other ...
Pluto TV Revenue
The Pluto TV subscriber count in 2020 was 43.1 million. There was a notable increase in subscribers in 2021, with the count rising to 64.4 million, representing a growth of approximately 49.4% compared to the previous year. The growth trend continued in 2022, with the subscriber count reaching 78.5 million, a further increase of about 21.9% compared to the previous year.
Pluto TV: App, channels, guide and how to activate
Pluto TV: App, channels, guide and how to activate
Pluto TV: Channels, packages, and how to sign up
Pluto TV offers roughly 250 virtual "channels," which serve as hubs for similar content and are presented via a cable TV-like interface. Some of the most popular Pluto-curated channels include ...
Viacom Explains Its $340 Million Acquisition of Pluto TV
Pluto TV. Viacom paid $340 million for Pluto TV because it sees a big market for free, ad-supported video, chief financial officer Wade Davis said. People are getting subscription fatigue and just ...
Pluto TV Review
Pluto TV Review
Pluto TV ad revenue growth in the U.S. 2022
Pluto TV advertising revenue growth in the U.S. 2019-2022. In 2020, advertising revenue generated by Pluto TV in the United States increased by an estimated 106.8 percent on the results reported ...
Family Business
Family Business. Andi proposes an exciting idea for Adam and her to go into business together when she isn't able to find work. Also, Adam tackles the most challenging job of his life - renovating Joe and Bev's (Swoosie Kurtz) kitchen. Stream Man With A Plan free and on-demand with Pluto TV. Season 2, Episode 21. Stream now.
Man With A Plan on Pluto TV
The Party Planner. Adam attempts to organize a birthday dinner for Andi and he discovers that managing guests isn't easy. S2E13 21 min. Pluto TV. Movies and Shows in United States. Man With A Plan. Stream Man With A Plan free and on-demand with Pluto TV. Season 2, Episode 13. Stream now.
Man With A Plan on Pluto TV
Man With A Plan on Pluto TV | Family Business | 30 min | Andi proposes an exciting idea for Adam and her to go into business together when she isn't able to find work. Also, Adam tackles the most challenging job of his life - renovating Joe and Bev's (Swoosie Kurtz) kitchen.

How Does Pluto TV Make Money? And Who Owns It Now?

What Is Pluto TV?

A Short History Of Pluto TV

How Does Pluto TV Make Money?

Pluto TV Funding, Revenue & Valuation

Who Owns Pluto TV?

Viktor Hendelmann

More From Forbes

Best High-Yield Savings Accounts Of 2024

Join The Conversation

Forbes Community Guidelines

Paramount Streaming CEO Tom Ryan on Pluto TV Turning 10, What’s Next for Paramount+ and More: Streaming Biz Is ‘Underestimated by the Market’

Todd Spangler

Popular on Variety

Why Studios Still Haven’t Licensed Movies and TV Shows to Train AI

'Rust' Judge Denies Prosecutor's Move to Reopen Alec Baldwin Case on Procedural Grounds

More from Variety

How IVF and Fertility Struggles Inspired Elizabeth Olsen and Alicia Vikander’s Offbeat Psychological Thriller ‘The Assessment’

Content Owner Lawsuits Against AI Companies: Complete Updated Index

First Look at TIFF Sales Drama ‘Really Happy Someday’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Andrew Garfield, Elizabeth Olsen, Barry Keoghan and More Toast Female Filmmakers at the Variety and Chanel Dinner at TIFF

The Postwar Streaming Market: A Special Report

‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Actor Max Minghella on His Sophomore Dark Comedy ‘Shell’ With Kate Hudson and Elisabeth Moss: ‘It Was Filled With Things That I Didn’t Think That I Would Respond To’

Forget the Velvet Rope. Private Members’ Clubs Are Booming—and They Want You Inside.

NLL Inks On-Field Apparel Deal With Castore

The Best Loofahs and Body Scrubbers, According to Dermatologists

James Earl Jones Dead at 93

site categories

Pluto TV Reaches $1 Billion Annual Revenue Milestone A Year Ahead Of Schedule

More Stories By Dade

Related Stories

'Harbin' Star Hyun Bin And Director Woo Min-Ho Talk Burden And Joy Of Making A Historical Epic -- Toronto

2024-25 Awards Season Calendar - Dates For Oscars, Emmys, Grammys, Guilds & More

Watch on Deadline

Must Read Stories

Oprah Winfrey To Host “Unite For America” Virtual Event For Kamala Harris

Entertainment

New on Yahoo

Pluto TV Reaches $1 Billion Annual Revenue Milestone A Year Ahead Of Schedule

The Definitive Voice of Entertainment News

site categories

Caitlin Huston

Related Stories

THR Newsletters

More from The Hollywood Reporter

Pluto TV Review

Pluto TV News

Compatible Devices

Local Channels

Top Cable Channels

Sports Channels

College Sports

Other Sports Channels

Stereo Sound

DIRECTV STREAM Cash Back

Offer Terms

Sling TV Cash Back

Hulu Live TV Cash Back

Is Pluto TV for Sale? It Could Be Challenging for Paramount

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Viacom’s Acquisition of Pluto TV and the Promise of a Free Streaming Future

"This is an ad-supported platform that can work with [distributors'] broadband-only subscribers … We think that’s tremendously exciting and the next leg in our distribution strategy."

Pluto TV Review 2022: Everything you need to know

What is Pluto TV?

Pluto TV plans and pricing

Pluto TV supported devices

What to watch on Pluto TV

Pluto TV features

Picture Quality

Web Player and Playback

The final cut

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Related To Paramount

More Resources

About The Author

Gennaro Cuofano

Pluto TV: App, channels, guide and how to activate

What is Pluto TV?

Sign up to get the BEST of Tom's Guide direct to your inbox.

Pluto TV free package (with ads)