After detailing the new and returning shows it was bringing to linear and specialty channels, Corus gave advertisers watching its Upfront presentation another ad-supported platform to consider when it revealed it would be bringing Pluto TV to the Canadian marketplace this fall.
Owned by U.S. media company ViacomCBS, Pluto TV is one of the leading free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) services globally, with 68 million monthly active users who have streamed over 4.8 billion total viewing hours. It is somewhat different than other services, in that its 20,000 hours of content features a mix of programming owned by ViacomCBS, as well as series from digital creators that have already been distributed on sites like YouTube, Funny or Die and Refinery29.
Similar to Corus’ STACKTV, the content can be accessed on-demand, or through a linear interface with content curated by genre. Through this interface, Pluto TV has also offered streams of traditional linear TV networks in different markets where it operates, mostly in the world of news and sports.
Announced as part of Wednesday’s Upfront presentation, Corus will be the Canadian ad representative for Pluto TV in Canada at launch, and will also offer “a curated slate” of its original productions to be made available on the service. Greg McLelland, EVP and CRO at Corus, says the deal adds to the volume of digital video inventory advertisers can buy through Corus, “allowing our clients to achieve the impact of TV with the measurement and targetability of digital.”
Daniel Eves, SVP of broadcast networks at Corus, tells MiC that with the premium programming video market already being served by STACKTV and the company’s cable channels, entering the FAST market was the next big area of growth to pursue.
“It’s been a big space in the U.S., but it’s still sort of in its infancy in Canada, and so we knew we wanted to sort of be in that window of contact,” he says. “When we looked for a partner to be there, Pluto is the biggest type of that product in the U.S., so we are happy to be with someone who really figured it out, who were early in the game and who knew how to do it.”
