Do you love streaming your favorite TV channels? Do you find it hard to pay for your best shows? Are you tired of paying for every TV service? Pluto TV may be the alternative you haven’t thought about.
Pluto TV is one of the best free streaming services online. Pluto TV offers more than 250 channels and also on-demand TV shows and movies.
Since its launch in 2014, the service has had more than 28 million active users across the U.S. Pluto TV also operates in Europe and Latin America and has plans to roll out in other parts of the world.
Pluto TV licenses its content directly from providers. It has deals with over 170 content partners who provide more than 250 TV channels.
They also provide more than 100,000 hours of programs. As of August 2021, the free TV streaming service has about 52 million monthly active users across the globe.
1. What is Pluto TV?
Pluto TV is a free internet television service. It is an “over-the-top” service. It is owned and operated by ViacomCBS Streaming. The TV service is based in Los Angeles, California. It is an advertiser-supported videos-on-demand service (AVOD).
Pluto TV can be streamed on the Pluto TV website or on the Pluto TV app. Pluto TV app is supported on quite a number of devices.
To understand more about Pluto TV, here is a brief history of its journey to providing you with the best content freely:
Pluto TV launched its beta website back in 2014. It was originally developed to provide curated channels of existing online content.
It started by offering about 100 categorized channels featuring content obtained from various video-sharing platforms such as Vimeo, Dailymotion, YouTube.
It also provided traditional content through partnerships with television networks and original web-content services such as Funny or Die, QVC, Refinery29, RocketJump, and TYT Network.
In 2016, Pluto TV partnered with Sony to make the Pluto TV app accessible on the PlayStation Store. It could be download by users of the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4.
In 2017, Pluto TV launched a traditional video-on-demand service. It consists of a large library of movies and television shows licensed from various distributors such as Viacom, Sony Picture, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Nelvana, Fremantle, DHX Media, King Features Syndicate, and Monstercat.
They are available for individual viewing by individual Pluto TV users. Pluto TV is rated as one the most-watched apps on Roku.
In 2018, Vizio launched WatchFree, a new ad-supported streaming platform powered by Pluto TV. This service is built into several models of Vizio’s line of Internet-connected smart TVs, especially those supporting its SmartCast operating system. It has “an easy-to-navigate, cable-like interface.”
Pluto TV expanded into Europe in 2018. It launched a platform on Sky’s Now TV service in the United Kingdom, with an initial offer of more than 12 curated channels. Pluto TV also launched a regional service in Austria and Germany through a separate collaborative agreement with Sky.
In 2019, Pluto introduced branded channels based on Viacom Media Networks-owned cable outlets and other Viacom properties. The introduction included content from MTV, Nickelodeon, TV Land, Paramount Pictures, VH1, Comedy Central, BET, and Logo.
Pluto TV was also launched on Comcast’s Xfinity X1 cable boxes in 2019, including the launching of a Spanish language programming tier, Pluto TV Latino.
Pluto TV Latino initially consisted of eleven Portuguese and Spanish language channels, including two sports-focused channels, Combate World and Lucha Libre.
They incorporate programs originally produced in Spanish languages and Spanish-dubbed versions of English and Portuguese programs.
Additional channels from CBS, including Los Angeles and CBSN Local’s New York services and an Entertainment-tonight, branded entertainment news channel (ET Live), were added to the service on November 13, 2019.
In September 2019, Pluto TV became available on mobile platforms in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. By November 2019, the service was estimated to have 20 million monthly active users across the above-named European countries.
In 2020, Pluto TV launched in Latin America. It started by offering 17 channels available in Spanish and Portuguese at launch. Currently, there are more than 80 channels available in Latin America.
Along with content provided by ViacomCBS Networks International-owned local versions of its corporate parent’s U.S. media properties, co-owned Argentinian network Porta dos Fundos and Telefe also provide content for the Latin American service.
Pluto TV also incorporated content into a revamped version of CBS All Access. CBS All Access added content from ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks cable properties, Paramount Pictures, and CBS Television Distribution. On July 9, 2020, Pluto launched an app for Virgin Media customers in the UK.
ViacomCBS launched Pluto TV in Spain, Italy, and France in October 2020. It started with 40 channels and thousands of hours of on-demand content.
On July this year, Pluto TV added several new channels. They include News 12 New York, Pluto TV Home, and Professional Bull Riders’ Ride Pass.
You now have a clear picture of what Pluto TV is. You may, however, be asking yourself some questions. Well, some of them are answered in detail below:
2. Is Pluto TV Free?
Streaming Pluto TV services are totally free. You do not even need to use your credit or register with your email.
Just visit Pluto TV’s website or download and use the app. You can watch shows and movies immediately on the website or app, at your own place of comfort.
Perhaps you may need to enjoy more privileges of streaming on Pluto TV. Registering for a Pluto TV account gives you special features such as the ability to mark favorite channels and also be able to resume watching a program, which you had started watching on a different device.
Free streaming is all made possible by Pluto TV airing advertisements during shows. The commercials are aired in a similar way to the ones on cable TV.
In a half, an hour, about four commercials are aired, with each taking 20-30 seconds. For those who are used to commercial breaks on traditional television will not really take the commercial breaks as a big deal.
3. Why is Pluto TV Free?
You would probably be much irritated if you paid for a streaming service that frequently shows you ads. You would try to find a way to eliminate the interruptions by ads.
You do not want to your hard-earned money to be used to show you want you may not be having interest in at that moment. Pluto TV has got a better way of making sure you enjoy your best shows and movies at relatively no cost.
However, Pluto TV definitely needs to generate revenue for it to continue running and bring you better streaming experiences.
As a result, you will definitely encounter video advertisements structured similarly to those found on conventional TV at intervals of your streaming.
4. Is Pluto TV on-demand Free?
Pluto TV on-demand content is absolutely free. All on-demand content is freely available. The channels are ad-supported. The channels include sports, movies, comedy, cartoons, music, viral videos, and much more. The on-demand content also includes news channels such as MSNBC, CNBC, and CBS.
5. Pluto TV Features
Pluto TV offers numerous channel categories, most of which you probably know and love watching. Boasting of over 250 channels, Pluto TV channel categories are spread into news, comedy, sports, lifestyle, entertainment, movies, tech, and kids.
Pluto TV is supported on various devices, including Android TV, Apple TV, PlayStation, on browsers, among others.
Pluto TV also has a digital video recorder feature on its website, known as “myPluto.” On myPluto, you can record content by clicking a “save show” button that archives content from the channel as it played.
After looking at the main features of Pluto TV, you might be having more questions lingering in your mind. You may be wondering if Pluto TV is of any importance.
6. Is Pluto TV Any Good?
It is everyone’s goal to save on bills while still getting the best enjoyment and access to information. While other streaming services require you to pay for the services, Pluto TV offers you the services free of charge. All you need is data to access Pluto TV.
Pluto TV is accessible on numerous devices. You can watch Pluto TV on any of the supported devices. Are you on a vacation, a seminar, or at a busy place and missing your favorite TV series? Pluto offers you a solution such that you are able to stream your favorite shows on any supported device.
7. Does Pluto TV Have ESPN?
You now know the goodness of Pluto TV. You can stream almost any content freely. Are you a football, tennis, or rugby fan? You are probably excited because Pluto TV offers sports channels.
But there is a shortcoming. Pluto TV does not have ESPN coverage. Even though Pluto TV has sports channels, live broadcast services are still unavailable. The available sports channels usually rebroadcast completed matches.
If you are looking for live TV broadcasts, you might not find one on Pluto TV. Recorded broadcasts are freely available. But you can find live broadcasts elsewhere, at a cost, or other websites that allow you to watch live TV.
8. Is it Safe To Download Pluto TV?
It is okay to have doubts about the safety of your personal information, especially when installing new apps or accessing some websites.
However, with the large number of people already using Pluto TV, it is prudent to conclude that it is safe and secure to download Pluto TV.
Pluto TV does not require any of your personal details such as email, name, and phone number. You can access all the services free of charge and without any single form of registration.
Pluto TV is also 100% legal. You do not have to worry about being subjected to cyberbullying or the risk of your personal data being collected or being hacked. You can start watching Pluto TV free right away without having to worry about getting any sort of virus.
9. What is The Catch With Pluto TV?
Instead of charging a monthly subscription fee like other streaming services, Pluto collaborates with advertisers to get its revenue.
This enables the platform to provide you with content completely free for you and its other millions of viewers.
You can watch Pluto TV on pretty much any device in your home. Access it through a web browser or through an app on smartphones and smart TVs.
10. How Many Channels Does Pluto TV Have?
Pluto TV has more than 250 channels. The channels are split into various categories.
11. Pluto TV Channels
Pluto TV is structured in a similar manner to the traditional cable television model. It offers its content as designated channels categorized by program content type into the following multiple channel categories:
- Sports: These consist of live and previously-aired events, sporting news, and analysis programs. These channels include Fox Sports, NFL Channel, PGA Tour, and Major League Soccer, etc.
- Gaming + Anime: These consist of technology, science, sci-fi, and geek culture-oriented channels.
- Reality: These include reality and competition shows.
- Crime: These include crime-based programs, primarily dramas, and reality shows.
- Comedy: These include comedy-based services, consisting of viral video channels, sketch/sitcom comedy, and stand-up comedy.
- En Español: These consist of Spanish entertainment channels.
- Kids: These consist of channels aimed at children and young teenagers.
- Local: These consist of CBSN Local channels, which had previously been carried in the news section via geolocation.
- Featured: These include the new channels and special event content.
- Movies: These include movie channels, consisting of both general-format and genre-based programs such as comedy, thriller, action, drama, etc.
- Entertainment: These include varied general and specialty entertainment-based channels and programs.
- Explore: These consist of travel, lifestyle, historical and special-interest channels.
- News + Opinion: Mainstream news and opinion channels, as well as partisan, commentary-based outlets that reflect conservative and progressive viewpoints.
- Classic TV: These include channels focused on classic television shows.
- Home + DIY: These include lifestyle-oriented channels.
Outside of the United States, Pluto TV and its apps are currently available in Europe and Latin America.
Pluto is also available in countries such as Canada, but only in a limited capacity due to existing program rights held by domestic broadcasters.
12. Pluto TV Channels List
The following are some of the channels on Pluto TV. The channels list below will show you the channel category and channel number.
Entertainment
- 130 TV Land Drama
- 135 Stories by AMC
- 140 Leverage
- 142 Baywatch
- 144 Degrassi
- 147 Pluto TV Love Stories
- 149 Pluto TV Suspense
- 150 Star Trek
- 151 SciFi
- 154 British TV
- 160 Judge Nosey
- 165 Deal or No Deal
- 167 Game Show Central
- 172 Demand Africa
- 174 Bet Star Pluto TV
- 175 Bet Star Her Pluto TV
- 178 MTV Pluto TV
- 182 CMT Pluto TV
- 187 Logo Pluto TV
- 190 ET Live
- 192 People TV
- 194 Awesomeness TV
- 197 Complex
Movies
- 51 Pluto TV Spotlight
- 54 Action
- 57 Comedy
- 60 Drama
- 66 Fantastic
- 70 Romance
- 74 Thrillers
- 75 Horror
- 76 Terror
- 80 Black Cinema
- 91 Documentaries
- 95 80s Rewind
- 100 Paramount Movie Channel
- 103 CMT Westerns
- 106 Classic Movies
- 109 Cult Films
- 112 Flicks of Fury
- 115 The Asylum
Reality-TV
- 275 Reality
- 276 Lives
- 277 Rescue 911
- 282 VH-1 I Love Reality
- 283 Love & Hip Hop
- 284 VH-1 Hip Hop Family
- 285 Black Ink Crew
- 290 Spike Pluto TV
- 291 Spike Outdoors
- 294 Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen Uncensored
- 296 Survivor
- 297 The Amazing Race
- 298 The Challenge
- 301 Fear Factor
- 303 American Gladiators
- 305 Wipeout
- 310 All Reality WE TV
- 315 Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
- 320 Celebrity
- 330 MTV Dating
- 332 Drama Life
- 340 People are Awesome
News + Opinion
- 202 Pluto TV News
- 204 CBSN
- 206 CBSN New York
- 207 CBSN Los Angeles
- 209 CNN
- 212 NBC News
- 213 NBC News Now
- 217 WeatherNation
- 221 Sky News
- 224 Bloomberg Television
- 226 Cheddar
- 228 C Net
- 230 BNC
- 232 Top Stories by Newsy
- 234 Today
- 236 Newsmax TV
- 238 Blaze Live
- 240 America’s Voice
- 242 OAN Encore
- 244 The F1rst
- 246 TYT Network
Sports
- 702 CBS Sports HQ
- 705 FOX Sports
- 708 NFL Channel
- 712 MLS
- 713 PGA Tour
- 725 Pluto TV Sports
- 726 Fight
- 730 Bellator MMA
- 734 Impact! Wrestling
- 736 Glory Kickboxing
- 740 Bein Sports Xtra
- 745 Fubo Sports Network
- 748 Stadium
- 752 Bigsky Conference
- 755 Pluto TV Backcountry
- 756 Pursuit UP
- 759 Pluto TV Action Sports
- 762 Red Bull TV
- 770 WPT
Music
- 855 Live Music
- 868 MTV Block Party
- 869 MTV Spankin’ New
- 870 MTV Biggest Pop
- 873 YO!
- 890 Vevo Pop
- 898 Hillsong Channel
Gaming + Anime
- 801 Gamer
- 805 IGN
- 806 Gamespot
- 815 Minecraft TV
- 816 GamePlay Roblox
- 830 Anime All Day
- 836 Naruto
- 848 Tokushoutsu
Kids
- 976 Kids Animation
- 977 Nick Pluto TV
- 978 Nick Jr. Pluto TV
- 983 Totally Turtles
- 985 Dora TV
- 989 KIDS
- 991 Tween
- 993 Pocket Watch
- 995 Little Baby Bum
- 997 Nick Latino
- 998 Nick Jr. Latino
Latino
- 901 Pluto TV Cine Estelar
- 902 Cine
- 904 Cine Acción
- 905 Cine Terror
- 920 Nuestra Vision
- 925 The Walking Dead Español
- 933 Forensic Files en Español
- 936 Investiga
- 940 Telenovelas Clasicas
- 941 Novelas Romance
- 942 Novelas Drama
- 943 Novelas Thriller
- 944 Narco Novellas
- 950 Spike Aventura
- 953 Realities en Español
Explore
- 651 History
- 655 Military
- 660 Biography
- 663 Cars
- 666 Animals
- 669 Pluto TV Paranormal
- 672 Science
- 675 Adventure TV
- 678 Travel
- 681 Voyager Documentaries
- 687 Chassy
- 690 NASA TV
- 692 Nature Escape
- 694 Loupe
- 696 Slow TV
Sports
- 702 CBS Sports HQ
- 705 FOX Sports
- 708 NFL Channel
- 712 MLS
- 713 PGA Tour
- 725 Pluto TV Sports
- 726 Fight
- 730 Bellator MMA
- 734 Impact! Wrestling
- 736 Glory Kickboxing
- 740 Bein Sports Xtra
- 745 Fubo Sports Network
- 748 Stadium
- 752 Bigsky Conference
- 755 Pluto TV Backcountry
- 756 Pursuit UP
- 759 Pluto TV Action Sports
- 762 Red Bull TV
- 770 WPT
13. Does Pluto TV Have Regular Channels?
Even though Pluto TV works the same way as cable TV service online, it has a fewer number of local channels that you can choose from. These regular channels only work in specific areas and cities. They are mostly CBS news channels.
14. Does Pluto TV have 4K?
Yes. Pluto TV supports 4K resolution. There are quite a number of channels on Pluto TV that support streaming in 4K resolution. The 4K resolution supporting channels include the 4K TV channel and the Slow 4K channel.
15. What Channel is 4K on Pluto TV?
The 4K is channel 421 on Pluto TV. It is an ultra HD channel. It is accessible on Chromecast via the Pluto TV android app or via browsers.
16. Pluto TV Supported Devices
The Pluto TV app is available on devices including web browsers as well as many major smart TVs, smartphones, and streaming boxes and sticks.
You can stream and watch content on Pluto TV through your desktop, mobile, and internet-connected TV platforms, including:
- Android and Apple iOS/iPad devices
- Android TV
- Apple TV
- Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick,
- Amazon Kindle/Fire Tablets
- Roku
- Vizio SmartCast
- PlayStation 4
- PlayStation 5
- Xbox One
- Xbox Series X/S
- webOS
- Google Chromecast
- Virgin Media
- TiVo Stream 4K
- macOS and Windows computers
Pluto-operated channels are also provided via The Roku Channel’s live TV section.
17. How To Stream Pluto TV
You are now sure you want to enjoy the free streaming services offered by Pluto TV. But how do you stream Pluto TV?
Like any other streaming service, you can watch Pluto TV in various ways with practically any device.
You can use your favorite web browser to watch on your computer or download the app on Windows and Mac computers.
The service is also available on various devices like your AppleTV, Roku, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, as well as your smart TVs. You can also download the Pluto TV app on Android and Apple devices.
18. How does Pluto TV make money?
Pluto TV makes money via advertising. These commercials are shown at intervals of your streaming and whenever you switch channels.
The length of ads is dependent on the types of ads being shown as well as its content. When switching to different channels, ads normally last for 30 to 60 seconds. In-commercials can last up to 3 minutes.
Pluto generates revenue whenever ads are shown to the user. The revenue is then shared with the owner of that content. The actual money shared is dependent on the agreement between Pluto TV and the firm it licensed the content from.
19. Pros and Cons of Using Pluto TV
Pros
- Pluto TV services are entirely free
- Both on-demand content and live-streaming services are readily available
- Pluto TV is available on all major streaming devices
- Pluto TV offers lots of entertainment, ranging from music to movies of different genres.
- You can stream Pluto TV services anywhere. In your area of comfort, you can stream using your mobile phone, iPad, tablet, laptop, and any other supported device.
Cons
- Pluto TV does not provide an option for accessing ad-free content.
- Most content is old and not up to date with the current trends.
- There is no cross-device support.
- High Definition videos are unavailable.
- Searching for content of your choice is limited. Filtering is also limited.
Summary
Pluto TV is a streaming platform that serves live television and on-demand video content to viewers free of charge.
Pluto TV is supported on various devices and also has an app for Mac and Windows computers and mobile phones.
Pluto TV does not require registration to access its services. However, willing users can register to be able to pin their favorite channels.
Pluto TV makes money by showing advertisements within the video content and when switching between channels.
Pluto TV was founded in 2014. The ViacomCBS owned company has risen to become one of the leading over-the-top streaming platforms. It is estimated to be worth over $340 million.
No matter what you’re looking for, you will be able to find something and watch Pluto TV free online, from your mobile device, computer, or TV.