Google TV’s Live tab was previously only home to virtual MVPDs but now Pluto TV, a free, ad-supported streaming television (FAST) service, has made it through the door.
Google this week announced that more than 300 free linear Pluto TV channels will be integrated into the Google TV Live tab on Chromecast with Google TV and smart TVs from Sony and TCL in the coming weeks. Pluto TV already had an app for Google TV and Android TV but this integration means its linear content will have a prominent and easier to access spot alongside YouTube TV, Philo and Sling TV.
TV[R]EV analyst Alan Wolk called it a good deal for Pluto because it gets the service in front of more viewers without much extra effort on their part.
“So, Pluto will be able to expose a lot more people to its content. They have a lot of unique content too—all those shows from the Viacom and CBS libraries that they have access to,” he said in an email. “While they may have to do some sort of ad split with Google, they are likely reaching viewers they never would have reached, so it is a net win. The smart TV OEMs are the new MVPDs and Pluto made a smart move.”
ViacomCBS in 2019 predicted Pluto TV would be a $1 billion business and it’s on track to hit that mark in 2021. Indeed, if there is some form of ad split with Google, that could slow some of that revenue momentum. But Pluto TV is still in growth mode and it is already showing signs of becoming a material contributor for ViacomCBS.
“…One interesting fact that we haven’t mentioned on the Pluto side, since you asked specifically, is Pluto in the domestic U.S. today is profitable. Now, we haven’t been running it for profitability. We’ve been running it for growth but it’s actually profitable in ‘21, and it’s at margins approaching broadcast,” said ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish this week at a UBS investor conference, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript.
Pluto TV ended the third quarter with approximately 54 million monthly active users and ViacomCBS expects the base to grow even faster in the fourth quarter. Bakish also said that Pluto TV’s revenue is “really incremental” to what ViacomCBS is getting through its traditional linear networks since linear supply is currently constrained.
Google is rumored to be working on its own FAST and if that comes together in 2022, it could take a bit of the shine away from Pluto on Google TV. But Google now counts more than 80 million monthly active Android TV OS devices (including Google TV), so it’s a smart move for Pluto TV to step forward on that platform.