Pluto: How to Grow Streaming With No Original Content

 Of the FAST TV services out there, Pluto has managed a very interesting growth pattern for a company that has no juicy exclusive original series or films to bring to the table. Now averaging 72M active users, and eyeing a target of 120M by 2025, it’s an interestingly different approach to the streaming wars. Blake & Wang P.A entertainment lawyer, Brandon Blake, takes a closer look.

Brandon Blake


A Nielsen First

As of September 2022, Pluto managed an interesting record as it became the first FAST platform to feature in Nielsen’s Gauge, taking 1% of the total TV viewership it measures. Powered mostly by CBS’ legacy content library, it was quite a coup for them. It also suggests they have real potential to become a cornerstone of the FAST market. In 2021 they managed about $1B in revenue, only slightly less than Paramount’s paid streaming option, with 4.8B viewing hours logged. 

An Early Start

Founded in 2013, Pluto is one of the first true FAST services on the market, with older CBS offerings and new primetime offerings their key content. The growing interest in free and low-cost streaming services has helped, too. As with Netflix, they allow for a binge-watching model that appeals, too, and have some solid platform-specific channels on offer. As even Roku moves into the original content market, however, its aversion to producing its own original content is interesting. And it is a stance they’ve now reiterated, claiming that the FAST market can’t support original programming particularly successfully due to the expenses involved in production and marketing.  

 

For now, they continue to view Pluto TV as a complementary offering alongside Paramount+. With a logical feed of Paramount’s content to the service, it does give them some market leverage, of course. All the same, it is an interesting deviation from current streaming norms, and one has to wonder if it will continue to pay off for them in the long run. For now, however, it's an unusual success story in a crowded streaming landscape.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is Kung Fu Panda 4 the Key to a Reinvigorated 2024 Box Office?

Image
 With Dune: Part Two having finally powered up the 2024 box office, it's time to build on that impetus if the wider box office recovery is to continue. There could be another strong contender lurking in the wings for this weekend’s releases- but it will doubtless surprise you to learn that this hope lies with the fourth installment of the animated Kung Fu Panda saga! Blake & Wang P.A. entertainment attorney Los Angeles , Brandon Blake, has more on this ironic twist for us.                                                                          Brandon Blake Two $40M Grosses on the Cards For the first time since July 2023 and the Barbenheimer dual release, we have a chance at not one, but two, films grossing over $40M this weekend. In fact, those figures may top $50M! While Dune: Part Two has had the benefit of massive hype and anticipation, Kung Fu Panda 4 may well turn out to be the more profitable production. Dune: Part Two has already grossed over $100M globally,
Read more

Netflix Ad Tier Turns in Fantastic Growth

Image
 What a difference half a year can make! With Netflix’s ad-supported subscription tier first launched only 18 months ago, the streamer has managed to nearly double its subscriber base since the start of 2024. Blake & Wang P.A. entertainment lawyer , Brandon Blake, fills in the details. Brandon Blake Impressive Subscriber Gains Netflix’s total subscribers for the ad-supported tier now number 40 million monthly active users. In January 2024, it was 23 million. The streamer was understandably gleeful to reveal this news at its first in-person Upfronts presentation in New York earlier this month. At its first-ever Upfronts presentation, which was held digitally in 2023, the ad tier had 5 million monthly active users.   Additionally, we were told that 40% of active signups now opt for the ad-supported plan, in countries where it is currently available. Of course, much of this can be attributed to a rather kind price ($7 domestically) for this tier, well below most of the other
Read more

Hulu on Disney+ is Officially Here

Image
While the Hulu on Disney+ Beta bundle has been live since last year, we have officially reached the point of full integration. Intriguingly, much of the executive focus on the new bundle has been around the technical advancements needed to unite the two platforms. You could take a look at entertainment lawyer Brandon Blake, from Blake & Wang P.A., looks in more depth at the united offering.                                              Brandon Blake Technical Advancements While few viewers are likely to know (or care, frankly) about the backstage technology that powers their viewing experience, Disney executives have been keen to hammer home the potential for happier, healthier subscriber engagement and retention with the new tech shift. They have gone as far as to call it the “most extensive technical advancement” since launch. At this point, it is clear that they are also hoping a more advertiser-appealing platform with better metrics can be leveraged to boost their highly su
Read more