Viacom on Wednesday announced it has acquired Pluto TV, an ad-supported streaming TV service that offers over 100 channels of content, including movies, sports, cartoons, and more. According to Viacom’s press release, the acquisition was made for $340 million in cash.
Pluto TV features a strong mix of channels, including CNBC, Sky News, Bloomberg TV, and Fox Sports, among others. But it also features lifestyle channels from companies such as IGN, Nerdist, CNET, and Viacom’s own AwesomenessTV.
From a business standpoint, Viacom plainly states why it saw Pluto TV as a target. The acquisition will provide Viacom with access to more than 12 million monthly active users, many of whom access the service through connected TVs. That’s plenty of eyeballs to serve ads to. In its press release, Viacom also says that it hopes Pluto TV users will subscribe to the network’s services, including Noggin and Comedy Central Now.
The deal will also see Pluto TV expand to tens of millions of additional devices. Additionally, Viacom says Pluto TV gives the network the opportunity to bring its library of digital content to the streaming service, as well as a platform to promote Viacom brands and pay-TV content.
According to Pluto TV CEO Tom Ryan, the service has enjoyed explosive growth over the past twelve months—something that, in part, attracted Viacom’s interest.
“As the video marketplace continues to segment, we see an opportunity to support the ecosystem in creating products at a broad range of price points, including free,” said Viacom President Bob Bakish. “To that end, we see significant white space in the ad-supported streaming market and are excited to work with the talented Pluto TV team, and a broad range of Viacom partners, to accelerate its growth in the U.S. and all over the world.”
You can start watching content on Pluto TV right now by going to pluto.tv.
