Audiences and Advertisers Embrace the Early Cable Aesthetic of Pluto TV, Other Free Streaming Platforms

’ free ad-supported Pluto TV service might be a flashback to their youth: hundreds of genre-specific linear channels to flip through while navigating via a helpful on-screen program guide.

If these sound like the names of regular channels, that’s by design. Many of them are offshoots of actual cable brands — particularly from the ViacomCBS portfolio, including the revival of Spike TV ; a curated Showtime offering playing the network’s older hits; a “Star Trek”-themed channel; regional CBS news networks; and multiple MTV channels that actually play music videos.

The friction to entry is minimal: No sign-ups are required, which limits data collection on things like demographics, but Pluto execs say they’d rather build a large-scale audience first. A lot of the growth can also be attributed to placement on smart TVs like Samsung and Vizio, which come with FAST offerings powered by Pluto, while Xumo has deals with LG and Samsung as well.

Pluto has gone from fewer than 20 channels at launch, with mostly third-party branded channels and digital shorts, to more than 250 channels with focuses on movies, reality, crime, comedy, news, classic TV, home, sports, gaming, music, kids and Spanish language programs. Giving it even more of the feel of a cable lineup: Some traditional channels are in the mix too, like Bloomberg TV, Sky News, Buzzr and Court TV.

Ryan, who’s busy prepping the relaunch of Paramount Plus for later in the year, likes to point to the contrarian nature of Pluto TV: linear in the age of on-demand, ad supported in a time when audiences don’t watch commercials, and free in a time of subscription services. Advertisers like that kind of engagement, so it’s no surprise that AVOD is expected to be the fastest-growing segment of the video business in the coming years. According to a recent Variety Intelligence Platform report on the state of FAST, Digital TV Research projects 100% growth between 2020 and 2025, to $53.5 billion globally.

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