Announced at Thursday’s Upfront, Paramount has revealed that in 2023 a selection of Pluto TV FAST channels will launch on 10 Play, expanding Paramount’s free streaming offering to consumers and partners in Australia.
Pluto TV is a free streaming television service with hundreds of channels that bring audiences movies and television series on-demand. Pluto TV is recognised as a FAST (free ad-supported television) service.
Pluto TV has a footprint spanning three continents and over 30 countries and territories – including the US, Europe, and Latin America – and has nearly 70 million global monthly active users. It is the top free ad-supported streaming TV service in the U.S. and Europe. The platform has also expanded its international presence recently, launching in the Nordics in partnership with Viaplay Group and an announced partnership with Corus in Canada, which will launch later this year.
The Upfront announcement marks an initial step in introducing Pluto TV in Australia.
For consumers, the platform will come with content spanning categories including movies and television, news and opinion, sports, comedy, reality, crime, classic TV, game shows, explore, gaming and anime, music, kids, and more. You won’t need a credit card to register, an email and name like 10 Play. Then viewers can drop in and stream for free.
For partners, clients, and investors, advertisers will be given an additional premium environment to reach hard-to-find audiences.
When asked whether Paramount would be selling ads as a package with Pluto, 10Play, and 10, Paramount chief sales officer Rod Prosser told Mediaweek: “The ultimate goal has always been an all screens proposition, and this allows us to further expand that proposition. The introduction of VOZ means the measurement across screen will become more robust.
“We are definitely going to look at ways that we bundle and go to market together. Of course, it can be bought on its own as well with all of our assets – whether it’s STV, linear TV, or digital, our team are working across all those various platforms. In many instances, we bring them together and sell them as a package.”
From a content point of view, Beverley McGarvey, executive vice president and chief content officer for Paramount ANZ, told Mediaweek that Pluto TV will be “additive.”
“We have Channel 10, 10play, MTV, Nickelodeon, and Paramount+. What the fast channels allow us to do is really operate in that fast channel curated linear channel space. There can be multiple genres on there, or a single genre channel – perhaps a cooking channel or a MasterChef channel for superfans of that show, where they can find all the different MasterChef series.
“It gives us the opportunity to offer consumers a linear experience in that space that is curated for them. One of the things we spoke about at the upfront is that we will schedule primetime for you – if you want to sit down and watch Survivor at 7:30pm, brilliant, we’ll do it. If you want to watch things in a different way, we’ll also do that. What the Fast Channels through Pluto allow us to do is offer that curation.”