Viacom acquires ad-supported streamer, Pluto TV

Viacom has finalized the acquisition of ad-supported streamer Pluto TV, offering US$340 million (€300 million) in cash. Pluto TV is backed by Scripps Networks and Sky.

The acquisition comes after Viacom boss Bob Bakish said in September that the business is looking to pursue “alternative” direct-to-consumer offerings. Viacom confirms that Pluto TV will advance its key strategic priorities, including expanding its presence across “next-generation” distribution platforms and growing its advertising business.

Pluto TV, founded in 2013, offers a free bundled experience and streams over 100 channels. It has over 130 partnerships with media networks, major film and television studios, and digital content producers. The company boasts of over 12 million monthly active users, 7.5 million of which are on connected TVs. Connected TV sets are a growing market. Research from eMarketer shows that nearly 55% of the US population currently owns a connected TV and that the trend is on the up.

Viacom’s purchase arrives days after Amazon launched its AVOD service, Freedive, with IMDb. By investing in the AVOD, Viacom is however, joining an increasingly competitive space.

NBC Universal is also set to offer a free ad-supported service that will be made available to subscribers of Comcast and European pay-TV operator Sky, joining the likes of other AVOD offerings such as Hulu and Roku.

A number of media giants are entering the AVOD market as the paid-for SVOD market becomes increasingly crowded, with Disney and AT&T also set to introduce their own unique platforms that take on Netflix by the end of 2019.

Pluto TV is available across connected TV devices such as Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV and Chromecast. It has also secured new distribution deals that will make the service available on tens of millions of additional devices in the coming months.