Pluto TV is one of the most popular and well-known free ad-supported streaming services.
According to a Streaming Media Blog story, Pluto TV is now being evaluated for sale, with talks underway to sell the company back to Tom Ryan, one of Pluto TV’s original co-founders.
The conversations began before the Skydance deal was revealed and would require Skydance’s approval, but are apparently still on the table.
In 2019, Viacom purchased Pluto TV for $340 million. Now, the company supposedly generates more than $1 billion in revenue in 2021 and was profitable, however, according to Paramount’s SEC filing, it is not.
Pluto TV’s worth, however, comes from its access to Paramount programming. Without such, Pluto TV is far less profitable. However, it is feasible that Paramount will sell access to Paramount material to Pluto TV’s new owner.
It is currently unknown whether the Skydance management team intends to sell or keep Pluto TV.
READ MORE: Pay TV Becomes Serious About Free Streaming
Several large free ad-supported streaming services, including Redbox, have recently ceased operations or been sold. Other services, such as Crackle, are expected to go down later this year unless new owners purchase them before their parent company’s insolvency.
Free ad-supported streaming is one of the fastest growing sectors of streaming, however there are other companies attempting to enter the free ad-supported market. This includes subscription services such as Sling TV, Philo, and Fubo releasing free ad-supported versions.
Tom Ryan is currently working for Paramount, supervising the company’s streaming activities. It’s unclear what his job at Paramount would be if he acquired back Pluto TV.
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