Pluto TV Adding Full Seasons of New Shows Including ‘Drag Race,’ ‘Strange New Worlds,’ More
Free is a good word when it comes to streaming, and Pluto TV is very good at giving you free streaming content. The service is preparing to add even more TV channels to its already vast lineup; this time you can check out some favorites from the Paramount family of networks and Paramount+. Pluto, the company’s free streaming service, will air full seasons of some of the broadcaster’s most popular new shows on its free linear channels.
Pluto TV will kick off its new Paramount+ initiative with Mike Judge’s “Beavis & Butt-Head.” The original animated MTV series about two metal-music-loving teenagers who are often found engaging in silly activities provided some of the craziest comedy in the 90s. The show ran for almost twenty years and was revived again in 2022. In the upcoming future, it will be followed by shows such as “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” “All Stars,” “iCarly,” “Queen of the Universe,” “Joe Pickett,” and more. Of course, any Paramount-owned service wouldn’t be complete without an entree from the “Star Trek” universe, so Pluto TV will have a 24/7 channel dedicated to “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.”
The previous seasons will launch on Pluto in time for fans to catch up on the shows ahead of new installments airing on Paramount’s streaming, broadcast, and cable platforms. The free streamer will begin the new practice on Thursday, April 20 with previous seasons of “Beavis & Butt-Head”; the seasons will air during primetime on the Paramount+ Picks channel. Pluto TV will also make the new season’s premiere episode available for one week following its debut on Paramount+.
Keep in mind that while you will be able to watch these shows on Pluto TV, it won’t be the same experience as watching them on Paramount+. Since Pluto is a free streaming service, it has both an ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) library and free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels. These show-specific channels would fall under the latter category, meaning that viewers can tune in to check out the show’s channel at any time, but the episodes will air around the clock, meaning that to truly binge the series, you’ll have to watch continually to catch every episode.
Obviously, that is not ideal for most viewers, especially when it comes to longer-running series. Paramount’s goal in putting these shows on its free service is two-fold; first to add more compelling content to Pluto’s library, but also to remind people that they can binge episodes at their own pace on the subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) streamer, Paramount+.
“Paramount strives to deliver audiences a best-in-class streaming experience offering both free and paid options with Pluto TV and Paramount+,” Paramount EVP Amy Kuessner said. “This new offering reinforces the power and synergy of Paramount’s funnel, both in fueling Pluto TV with popular, fan-favorite original series, as well as serving to promote, market and drive consumers to Paramount+.”
At the end of 2022, Pluto had cultivated an impressive 72 million monthly active users. As the streaming landscape continues to evolve, free options are becoming more and more valuable to corporations, especially as subscription services continually increase their prices. So, we should expect to see more studios moving their premium content to ad-supported platforms — especially ones they own — in an effort to increase revenue and drive more customers to the series and movies’ SVOD homes.
