You know what a headache it is to spend hundreds of dollars a month on various over-the-top (OTT) subscriptions if you are a movie fanatic. Well, what if we told you that you could watch all of this incredible stuff on Pluto TV for no cost and with no restrictions whatsoever? Tempting, right?
Yet, this raises the issue of legitimacy: if it’s free, is it actually legal? Also, how does it benefit financially? Or, how does the platform accomplish this? All right, let’s answer them one by one!
How Does Pluto TV Make Money?
Pluto Tv is an ad-supported free streaming service that generates revenue via in-video advertisements that appear on users’ screens as they watch movies or television shows or flip between films.
Pluto TV is a well-known AVOD network, which stands for an advertiser-supported video-on-demand platform, which provides users with a platform to view videos or stream movies without any financial strain!
Then how does Pluto Tv make money? Furthermore, how does it provide all this stuff without charging anything?
Well, it’s all thanks to a brilliant business concept; Pluto Tv provides companies with a fantastic medium to promote their products in the form of ads ranging from 30 seconds to 3 minutes. These advertisements take the form of compulsory pop-ups that users must view and cannot skip.
Here, companies can reach Pluto TV’s massive audience of 72 million active users and perhaps expand their consumer base.
Now let’s talk about how much each advertisement costs, which varies widely from one company to the next and from one marketing campaign to another. Given that Pluto Tv made a billion dollars in revenue from this single source of income, it is clear that the rates per commercial video must be quite high.
Who Owns Pluto TV & How It Operates
In 2013, Pluto Tv launched as an independent free streaming service, but was soon purchased by Paramount Streaming, a subsidiary of Paramount Global in 2019 for a hefty amount!
Pluto TV operates on an AVOD model, which means it gives all of its users a free streaming platform and only receives income from advertisements. Free ad-supported streaming television, often known as the “FAST” service, is another name for this kind of operation.
Pluto TV is well ahead of the competition when it comes to content, ensuring that its customers never run out of options. Yet how? With over 250 channels and 100,000 hours of original programming, Pluto TV has a licensing agreement with over 170 different content producers, including Bloomberg, MTV, CNN, Lionsgate, and others industry giants!
The best part about it all is that it’s all accessible through Pluto’s official website and Pluto TV app for iOS and Android, or other streaming devices like the Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV Google’s Chromecast, or Roku — which makes streaming content really easy and convenient!
Also Read: How Does AfterPay Make Money?
Revenue, Funding and Valuation
Pluto Tv has made enormous strides in terms of revenue, raking in tons of cash. Insider Intelligence predicted that Pluto Tv would earn $786.7 million in net US ad revenue in 2021, an increase of 77.7% from the previous year.
Additionally, Pluto TV’s net revenue will cross $1 billion for the first time in 2022, marking its entry into the exclusive $1 billion-plus revenue club and ushering in a new standard in the industry, and giving tough competition to its competitors like Tubi TV, Sling TV, Frndly TV, Classic TV, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, among many others!
Even when it comes to funding, investors adore and trust Pluto Tv. With their most recent fundraising being raised on October 17, 2017, Pluto TV has raised an incredible $51.8M in total across over 6 rounds of funding!
Source: Crunchbase
Now let’s talk about how much Pluto TV is worth: the company’s valuation graph has been steadily climbing for years. Pluto Tv was purchased by Viacom for a staggering $340 million, raising its value to an exceptional standard!
A Brief History About Pluto TV
In 2013 in Los Angeles, California, Thomas V. Ryan, Ilya Pozin, and Nick Grouf co founded Pluto TV. On March 31, 2014, the website’s beta version went live after a year of testing and research.
When it first debuted, it collaborated with websites like YouTube TV, Vimeo, and Dailymotion to display its material on its platform. Today, this number has increased to a solid collaboration with an astounding 250 TV channels!
Being one of the most-watched Roku Channels on Roku, Pluto TV broke records when it hit the 15 million user mark on the platform in 2017.
Over the course of the following two years, Pluto TV began to amass a following and spread throughout Europe, the UK, Germany, and Austria, turning the business into a household name in the entertainment industry.
With such robust networks and a global presence, Pluto TV caught the attention of one of the biggest players in the market, Viacom. Viacom announced on January 22nd, 2019, that it was going to pay a stunning $340 million to buy Pluto!
Pluto TV is currently dominating the OTT market with over 72 million active users, up from 33 million in 2020. This represents a more than 2-fold increase in the overall user base!
Also Read: How Many Downloads Does Fortnite Have?
Pluto TV Subsidiaries, Acquisitions, And Exits
Pluto TV has successfully piqued the interest of several giant corporations, which has led to several purchase offers. Viacom bought it for a whopping $340 million in cash in 2019, and since then, the platform’s user base and library of videos have only expanded!
As rightly stated by 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 deal was an actual watershed event for both businesses!
Currently, Viacom’s market capitalization is valued at $58 billion which proves that the valuation of Pluto Tv has surely increased over the last 3 years!
Also Read: How Does Tubi Make Money?
Conclusion
These mind-boggling metrics reveal that Pluto TV has been dominating the internet in terms of content consumption, even in the face of competition from OTT behemoths like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney Plus, etc.
We can definitely expect the platform to expand over time and add more content to its ever-expanding library!
FAQs
Q1. How Does Pluto TV Stay Free?
Well, it goes without saying that this platform lets users stream Pluto TV movies, TV shows, and TV series for free and view hours of content without having to pay a dime, that is, it is a free streaming service.
But how does it stay free? Well, Pluto TV relies on an AVOD business model to make money, charging companies to air advertisements on their platform in between episodes, movies, and shows. Pluto TV collects money from these firms for these advertisements, which can run for up to 3 minutes, depending on the campaign.
Q2. Who Owns Pluto TV?
Currently, Paramount Streaming, a part of Paramount Global, is the owner of Pluto Tv. It was purchased by this firm for a staggering $340 million in cash, back in 2019, giving it a source to expand even further!
Q3. How Much Does Pluto TV Cost Per Month?
Pluto TV is completely free to use, which means that it does not charge any of its customers a subscription fee or a monthly cost for using the platform to stream content.
Therefore, if you are a user of this Pluto TV, you do not need to worry about spending any money in order to consume any of the content that is available on this platform!
Q4. How Do You Skip Commercials On Pluto TV?
On the platform, there isn’t a simple option to skip adverts or commercial breaks. If you decide to skip the commercials, you will also have to skip the equivalent time frame on the show you are watching.
If the advertisements really annoy you, it is a small price to pay because they often last for 15 seconds, and skipping that length of time from your program wouldn’t really hurt much.
You can also use third-party software, such as ad blockers, to circumvent commercials, but these come with their own set of risks, so it’s best to only install them after doing proper research on the tool
FAQS
Q1. How Does Pluto TV Stay Free?
Well, it goes without saying that this platform lets users stream Pluto TV movies, TV shows, and TV series for free and view hours of content without having to pay a dime, that is, it is a free streaming service.
But how does it stay free? Well, Pluto TV relies on an AVOD business model to make money, charging companies to air advertisements on their platform in between episodes, movies, and shows. Pluto TV collects money from these firms for these advertisements, which can run for up to 3 minutes, depending on the campaign.
Q2. Who Owns Pluto TV?
Currently, Paramount Streaming, a part of Paramount Global, is the owner of Pluto Tv. It was purchased by this firm for a staggering $340 million in cash, back in 2019, giving it a source to expand even further!
Q3. How Much Does Pluto TV Cost Per Month?
Pluto TV is completely free to use, which means that it does not charge any of its customers a subscription fee or a monthly cost for using the platform to stream content.
Therefore, if you are a user of this Pluto TV, you do not need to worry about spending any money in order to consume any of the content that is available on this platform!
Q4. How Do You Skip Commercials On Pluto TV?
On the platform, there isn’t a simple option to skip adverts or commercial breaks. If you decide to skip the commercials, you will also have to skip the equivalent time frame on the show you are watching.
If the advertisements really annoy you, it is a small price to pay because they often last for 15 seconds, and skipping that length of time from your program wouldn’t really hurt much.
You can also use third-party software, such as ad blockers, to circumvent commercials, but these come with their own set of risks, so it’s best to only install them after doing proper research on the tool