TiVo and Pluto TV have a new partnership that will land Pluto’s ad-supported streaming service on TiVo devices and the company’s own AVOD, TiVo+.
The companies said the partnership is about “promoting ease of discovery and one-click access to Pluto TV programming,” which includes more than 250 live, linear, ad-supported channels along with movies and television shows on-demand. TiVo will both integrate Pluto channels and VOD assets in the TiVo+ app and it will make the Pluto app available for direct access.
Pluto TV will be rolling out in the coming weeks to customers on TiVo Edge and will also soon become available on the upcoming TiVo Stream 4K device.
“Launching Pluto TV in an integrated way with TiVo aligns perfectly with our goal to provide a friction-free viewer experience with our distribution partners,” said Pluto TV CEO Tom Ryan in a statement. “Today, over 22 million people a month in the U.S. tune in to stream our programming which spans across all genres of movies, news, TV shows, sports, and documentaries, and we look forward to reaching many more together as part of the TiVo+ video network.”
RELATED: TiVo+ viewership up 41% in total hours amid COVID-19 crisis
TiVo+ is adding the Pluto TV lineup to its service at time when most Americans are sheltering in place due to the coronavirus outbreak, which is causing a dramatic increase in video streaming. In early April, TiVo said TiVo+ viewership was up 41% in total hours spent week over week.
For Pluto TV, the deal continues to expand on distribution for the service and likely will contribute to the company’s growing user base. The service now says it has more than 22 million monthly active users, ahead of the 20 million it reported in November 2019.
Pluto TV has also reportedly set a new distribution deal with Verizon. According to Deadline, Pluto TV will be placed across Verizon’s wireless network, on its connected platforms like Stream TV and on Verizon Fios TV.