Viacom’s Pluto TV Expands to Android Devices in Europe

Pluto TV in Europe

When CBS announced its merger with Viacom last month, one of the key strategic initiatives that the combined company was said to be pursuing was to “accelerate direct-to-consumer strategy.”  One of the existing products it called out as part of that strategy was Pluto TV, “the leading free streaming TV service in the U.S.” Now, Pluto TV is poised to become a contender in Europe as well.

MediaPlay News reports that Viacom, the owner of Pluto TV, has rolled out the service to Android devices in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The Pluto TV app will be available in the Google Play store, and on selected smart TVs.

Pluto TV is an ad-supported free TV streaming service, which, when CBS and Viacom combine, will nicely complement the paid, ad-free, top-tier CBS All Access. The service currently boasts “over 100 free channels, and reaches over 15 million monthly active users,” according to Wikipedia. Pluto TV is relatively young - it was founded in 2013 - and it was acquired by Viacom in January of this year for $340 million.

It’s notable that Pluto TV already carries some CBS content: the growing CBS online news network CBSN, and the technology-centered CNET Video. Others of the over 75 content partners include BBC Studios, CNN, Sony Pictures, NBC News and Hulu. It is not clear whether Pluto TV will carry more CBS content after the ViacomCBS merger is completed.

The expansion of Pluto TV to Android platforms in Europe follows on from its rollout to Apple’s iOS and tvOS earlier this month. Pluto TV’s Managing Director for Europe said, “With the launch on Android tablets and mobile devices, Pluto TV is available right in our users’ pocket … on the couch, on their daily commute or at their holiday destination.”