Pluto TV Has Most Live Free Streaming Content, But All Free Streamers Must Do Better When Sharing Data
Pluto has a clear focus on live channels over on-demand content, but reporting from Variety outlines just how unreliable reporting on free streamers can be.
It can be hard to know when to trust the data you’re looking at. That only gets more true as datasets become more complex, and in the world of business statistics it can be all too easy to mix up numbers or fudge a figure, especially when the originator of that data doesn’t reveal much in the way of concrete information.
- Ampere Analysis has released a new survey that shows Pluto TV offers the highest percentage of FAST content as compared to on-demand of any free streaming platform.
- Variety has measured a total of 1,841 free ad-supported TV (FAST) channels in the United States, despite other sources like Nielsen producing different numbers.
- The discrepancies underscore how difficult it is to get accurate numbers from FAST platform operators, and how reporting on those numbers can be skewed.
Pluto Loves to Live FAST
One firm that has no qualms about the accuracy of the data it presents is the London-based analytics firm Ampere Analysis. Ampere’s Josh Rustage recently shared that Pluto TV leads competitors in the free streaming space like Tubi, as well as subscription video services like Peacock that incorporate some (FAST) channels when it comes to free live streaming.
Ampere’s numbers show that 22% of movies and TV seasons distributed by Pluto are only available on its live, 24/7 free streaming channels. Fifty-four percent of titles on Pluto are only available on demand, leaving 24% that can be streamed either on live channels or at the user’s discretion. By comparison, only 9% of Tubi’s titles are FAST exclusives, and just 1% of Peacock’s titles fall into this category.
The differing strategies of Tubi and Pluto TV have led to success for both. Tubi’s on-demand first approach has led to it having the highest share of monthly active users of any free streaming platform. But Pluto’s more balanced attack plan brings it just behind Tubi in market share, and it has the most FAST usage across all platforms measured by Ampere.
Be Better
The problem with analyzing FAST platforms like Pluto TV is that they don’t often report user metrics in a way that’s easy to decipher. For instance, some of Pluto’s performance metrics are rolled in with Paramount+’s, which makes it harder to determine how successful the service is in its own right.
Variety reports that a big part of the problem is a lack of willingness on the part of FAST providers to share standardized data. This can lead to even household names like Nielsen misreporting the number of FAST channels available— Variety counts 1,841 FAST channels in the U.S., whereas Nielsen’s State of Play 2023 report published in June put the number at less than 1,500.
In some instances, the errors are caused by the analyst or writer charged with disseminating the data. But all too often, providers share metrics with outlets that will cast their streamer in a good light, and leave out other numbers that would paint a more complete statistical picture. As demand for FAST content continues to grow, it is to be hoped that providers will consider putting out more uniform datasets that give analysts an accurate picture of the performance of their service.
