Pluto TV, Paramount Global’s free ad-supported streaming TV service (FAST), is making changes to its channel category lineup and adding new content as it aims to make navigation easier for users and increase opportunities for discovery.
The reshuffle means five new categories are coming to the FAST service, including Game Shows, Daytime TV, Home, Food, and Lifestyle & Culture. Pluto TV said genres like game shows, reality and daytime TV “have shown to be incredibly popular amongst viewers,” generating demand for dedicated categories and the addition of more channels and titles to each.
It brings Pluto TV’s unique programming category tally to 18.
In a press release Pluto TV said that by periodically streamlining channels and categories it offers users more of a chance to find new content, which in turn boosts frequency and prolonged engagement on the platform.
Pluto TV has over 68 million monthly active users with more than 1,000 global channels with both on-demand and linear programming The service now boasts over 43,000 titles.
Coinciding with the category change-up, PlutoTV is also launching new FAST channels. A Let’s Make a Deal and The Judge Judy Channel launch today, July 11, while Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!-branded channels debut August 1.
“We are always looking for ways to improve our programming offering and make it easier for the audience to find what they are looking for. Not only is this expansion driven by viewing habits we can see, we spoke directly to our audience to gain feedback on suggested changes before they were made,” said Scott Reich, SVP of programming at Pluto TV, in a statement. “Everything we do puts the audience first and this optimization is the latest step to maintain our market leadership in partnership with our audience.”
While the new categories are for U.S.-based Pluto TV viewers, Paramount has been forging ahead with international debuts of the streaming service in partnership with local broadcasters.
Last month Pluto TV partnered with Corus, announcing a launch this fall in Canada. In May, Pluto turned up service in Sweden, Denmark and Norway in partnership with Nordic Entertainment Group – combining with a local ad-supported video on-demand service Viafree.