Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter
Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter
The studio’s free, ad-supported streaming platform will debut north of the border on Dec. 1.
By Etan Vlessing
Canada Bureau Chief
Paramount Global will launch Pluto TV, the studio’s free ad-supported streaming TV service, in Canada on Dec. 1.
The long-awaiting debut for Pluto TV north of the border will offer around 100 TV channels and over 20,000 hours of content. The latest international launch for the FAST channel comes as Canadian TV viewers grapple with rising subscription costs and more subscription video offerings than ever to compete against Netflix and other streaming giants.
Pluto TV, which has already launched in Nordic markets and elsewhere in Europe, will see local Canadian partner Corus Entertainment selling local advertising and providing its own licensing U.S. fare for the U.S.-based streaming platform. That will include the offer of homegrown series like Love It or List It and Chopped Canada, in addition to U.S. imports like the NCIS franchise, Judge Judy and Hawaii Five-0.
Related Stories
“Our initial channel lineup further illustrates how we are working to combine Corus’ incredible local content offering with Pluto TV’s global content, to meet the tastes of the Canadian audience. I’m confident that Pluto TV will quickly become a new destination both for fans of curated content as well as for clients and partners interested in investing in a new and unique streaming service upon its launch,” Olivier Jollet, executive vp and international GM for Pluto TV, said in a statement, as the FAST channel partners up to launch in Canada rather than goes over-the-top on its own.
Pluto TV is expected to be among the first of the major U.S.-based free, ad-supported streaming space channels to head north as a recessionary threat makes Canadians weigh up which SVOD channels to keep paying for. At launch, Canadians will view Pluto TV via www.pluto.tv and apps for Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Android TV, Chromecast, Samsung and LG devices.
Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day
Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day
Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter
Send us a tip using our anonymous form.