The first free, ad-supported streaming platform I ever used was The Roku Channel, and it completely changed how I look at streaming. With streaming prices constantly on the rise (looking at you, Netflixand Disney+), it really opened my eyes to what free streaming can offer, and since then, I’ve been leaning more and more on free streaming options, including platforms like Tubi and Plex.
Lately though, I keep coming back to Pluto TV, which has become one of my favorites. Between its hundreds of free ad-supported TV (FAST) channels and thousands of on-demand movies and shows, there definitely isn’t a shortage of free content worth watching. And now, heading into summer, Pluto TV is gearing up for one of its biggest free updates yet.
Paramount CEO David Ellison recently revealed that Pluto TV (which is owned and operated by Paramount) will receive its “most significant update in a decade” this summer, which involves upgrading it to the “Paramount Plus platform.”
Ellison made the announcement in a letter to shareholders following Paramount’s Q1 earnings report, saying that upgrading Pluto TV to the Paramount Plus platform will be a “major step forward in personalization and user experience.”
While Pluto TV will remain free, it’s unclear what its transition to the Paramount Plus platform will look like. Based on Ellison’s comments, it seems the goal is to make Pluto TV more user-friendly. Having used both, Paramount Plus is definitely the smoother experience for finding shows and movies. Since Pluto TV is being updated to run on the same platform, hopefully that means its free experience will feel much more premium in both performance and content discovery.
More free shows and movies are coming to Pluto TV
Paramount wants to rely more on VOD content
In addition to revealing that Pluto TV is being upgraded to the Paramount Plus platform, Paramount CEO David Ellison announced that Pluto TV will lean even more into video-on-demand (VOD) content going forward, saying that the company believes VOD content “presents a better overall consumer experience and is more valuable for advertisers given the intent associated with VOD.”
Ellison also noted that VOD hours per user have increased by 60 percent after recent updates.
This means that, in the future, we can likely expect even more free on-demand shows and movies to be added to Pluto TV.
Just this May, Pluto TV added over a hundred new movies you can stream on demand for free, including popular films like The Godfather, Saving Private Ryan, Mission: Impossible, and Top Gun: Maverick, as well as a number of TV series, including The 100, Arrow, and Battlestar Galactica.
As long as it keeps offering tons of free shows and movies to watch, I’ll keep using Pluto TV, and it certainly sounds like that’s Paramount’s intention.
Don’t get me wrong, while I like flipping through FAST channels on free streaming platforms, I do tend to prefer on-demand content since it’s more convenient. Pluto TV already has a large library of free on-demand shows and movies, and I certainly won’t complain if that library only gets bigger in the future. The more, the merrier.
All in all, I’m intrigued to see what Paramount has in store for Pluto TV this summer and how the platform will change as it transitions to the Paramount Plus platform. As long as it keeps offering tons of free shows and movies to watch, I’ll keep using Pluto TV, and it certainly sounds like that’s Paramount’s intention.
- number of users
-
80 million
- notable shows
-
The Andy Griffith Show (1960), Sanford and Son, The Twilight Zone, Charmed
- notable movies
-
Top Gun, Trading Places, Mission Impossible, Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark
- Premium Subscription
-
No
