Streaming services have dominated the entertainment world as of late, with huge names like Netflix and Hulu dominating the industry. Underdeveloped, obscure services with smaller audiences are scattered around, but it’s nearly impossible to compete with such massive services that offer endless content. Pluto TV, a free ad-supported service, is in a league of its own.
When Did Pluto TV Launch?
Launched in 2014 and purchased by Viacom in 2019, Pluto TV is one of the most popular free alternative to cable TV. The free streaming service has amassed about 79 million monthly users since the start of 2023, and they’re only growing. New channels such as Dateline and Bluebloods have recently been added to boost viewership, and we can only assume that Pluto TV will only continue to add more hits to their roster. They already provide some of the biggest channels on cable, like Nickelodeon, MTV, and Showtime, all completely for free.
After Viacom rebranded itself to Paramount, the company decided to move towards more modern tactics to keep up with the ever changing media landscape. Streaming services are in, and they’re here to stay. Pluto TV is one of the shining examples of how a free service can still be wildly successful, even without having any sort of original content. The service runs strictly reruns of TV Shows and movies, and previously aired sports games.
Is Pluto TV Really Free?
Without having any sort of paid subscription service, it’s a wonder Pluto TV has gained the success it has throughout the years. At its initial launch in 2014, the free streaming service turned little to no heads. Cable was still largely available in most households, and Pluto TV was very limited both in browsing and user-accessibility. Today, the free streaming service relies solely on partnerships from Paramount, and gains all of its monetization from ads played during channel switches and commercial breaks.
If free, widely-available cable wasn’t enough to turn the public eye to Pluto TV, its simple yet effective accessibility features are impressive and well done. Their closed captioning options allow the user to adjust how large and how visible the text is, as well as what type of font you would prefer. In addition, Pluto TV also has an intuitive menu to peruse. It’s easy to get lost in the 250+ channels the streaming service offers.
What Content Is Available?
With their impressive amount of channels, it’s no wonder Pluto TV offers 100,000 on-demand titles, all at zero cost to you. Besides high-quality movies, this free streaming service offers almost every genre of entertainment available on cable TV with over 250+ live channels, including but not limited to: Reality, Comedy, Gaming, Sports, Music, Kids, and much more. Iconic channels like MTV, Nickelodeon, and Comedy Central are all streamed for free, including popular gaming content provided exclusively from IGN.
Does Pluto TV Have DVR?
Though Pluto TV doesn’t allow you to record and save your favorite TV shows and movies, you are able to pause whatever you’re watching and come back to it later. Since the free service understandably doesn’t have allotted personal storage space for each user, pausing your video is the next best thing to the ON DEMAND feature we all have grown accustomed to.
Final Thoughts
Pluto TV is a wonderful alternative to cable, though it doesn’t quite reach the full potential that having a paid live TV service accomplishes. It is still lacking in certain areas, such as limited live content and streaming video in lower resolutions. However, if you’re looking for a live TV option with nostalgic shows and movies, Pluto TV might just be right up your alley.