Pluto TV is bringing thousands of movies and TV shows — including “Silence of the Lambs” and “Mad Max” — to its free, ad-supported internet television service under pacts with Lionsgate, MGM and Warner Bros.
Content covered under the deals include MGM’s “Silence of the Lambs,” “The Usual Suspects,” “The Birdcage,” “Thelma & Louise,” “Mad Max,” “Dances With Wolves,” and “Lars and the Real Girl”; Lionsgate’s “Haywire,” “Brothers” and “Bad Boys”; and full seasons of TV shows like Warner Bros.’s “The Ben Stiller Show” and “Super Fun Night.”
Pluto TV said it will slot the newly licensed movies and TV shows across several of its 100-plus themed channels, including the Crime Network, Horror 24/7, Funny AF, and Action Movies.
In addition to the deals with the three Hollywood studios, Pluto TV has signed recent content partnerships with others including CNN’s Great Big Story, Hearst Entertainment, Al Jazeera, The Orchard, Defy Media, Machinima, Studio71, and Tastemade. The streaming service also has deals with FremantleMedia, Endemol Shine International, Yahoo, CNBC, Cheddar and Mashable.
“We are delighted to be in business with Pluto TV,” Ken Werner, president of Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, said in a statement. “They have developed a terrific new offering for the constantly changing TV ecosystem.”
Added John Bryan, MGM’s President, Domestic Television Distribution, “Pluto TV is an ideal partner as MGM’s storied premium content is now accessible to new viewers through their vast network of programming channels.”
Launched in 2014, Pluto TV’s service is designed to mimic traditional TV with a grid-based guide programmed in linear, TV-like blocks. The service is available on the web and devices including Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, PlayStation and Xbox.
Pluto TV last fall announced $30 million in Series B funding, led by German media giant ProSiebenSat.1 with participation from Scripps Networks Interactive, Sallfort PrivatBank and others. As part of the investment, the company acquired Quazer, an OTT video startup focused on non-fiction programming serving German-speaking markets, from ProSiebenSat.1.
Other Pluto TV investors include USVP, Sky, Luminari Capital, Chicago Ventures, Terry Semel’s Windsor Media and UTA.
