Review of Pluto TV
It seems like every day we hear about a new streaming service being launched. Most of the major studios either have one or are getting ready to introduce one, while specialty services are popping up all the time.
But among these paid services, Pluto TV has been gaining traction in its offerings and doing it at no charge.
But the question remains, is Pluto TV worth your time?
What Is Pluto TV?
Pluto TV has been around for a few years, but has only recently upped their advertising presence. You may have seen their recent promotional and billboard campaigns featuring their logo surrounded by eyeballs.
Acquired by Viacom in early 2019, Pluto has over 100 channels of “live” streaming content as well as an on demand service of movies and television shows. You can access Pluto through your computer, their mobile app or on streaming devices.
What Do They Offer?
Pluto is made up of constantly streaming channels separated into categories such as movies, comedy, news, sports and even a section for gamers and geeks. It operates much like regular television or cable with commercial breaks.
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There are a large number of movie channels on the service, which are broken down into sub-categories like comedy, action, foreign films and more. Channels are also devoted to specific types of television shows as well as actual series.
For example, in the comedy category there is a Mystery Science Theater Channel, which offers round-the-clock episodes of the cult comedy riffing show.
Or if B-Movies are more your thing, there is an Asylum channel constantly offering such fare as “Zoombies” and “Airplane vs. Volcano.”
There are also streaming music channels with everything from the Rat Pack and jazz to hair bands and current tunes.
In addition, Pluto’s on demand service allows you to watch the shows and films on your own schedule.
How Do They Pay For it?
Pluto has been steadily adding content over the years and after the acquisition by Viacom they began to ramp up their programming offerings. The service is driven by ads and commercial breaks.
Viacom has said that they are looking into a subscription version of Pluto TV, but at this time there is no information on when it might launch or what it would offer.
So What’s Great About it?
First of all, it’s free. You can watch news and sporting events without paying for cable. There’s an extremely large selection of films and shows that you can watch live or on demand.
The Pluto TV binge factor is amazing. If you are a fan of one of their shows, you can binge every episode on a channel. It’s like a constant television show marathon.
Of the movie sections, many are classic and award winning, along with cult hits and beloved films. There is also a great selection of shows from your youth, whether you are a millennial or baby boomer.
The music streaming is a great offering with a large selection of different styles.
What’s Not So Great?
While it’s great to binge, once you’ve seen all the shows you love, you may be over it.
For example, the service has a “Dog The Bounty Hunter” channel. However, if you do the math, there are only enough episodes of the show to fill less than a week’s programming.
So it’s going to be a constant repeat and it’s not necessarily going to go through all the episodes before replaying some. Some episodes seem to be in heavier rotation.
Theoretically, you could watch one, and the next time you turn on Pluto TV, it could be the same episode. Eventually you will have seen every episode and might not be interested in that channel any longer, which could lead to you not valuing the service as much.
While the live streaming of news and sports will be recent (albeit somewhat limited in content), the movies and shows aren’t going to be very many current offerings. You aren’t going to find recent blockbusters or new TV shows. Also, for some reason some movies are censored and some are not.
Viewers have also reported some technical issues with Pluto on their streaming devices. They have reported that from time to time the channel can cause their devices (such as Roku) to freeze and reboot.
The commercials are also a bit odd because they will occur in the middle of a show or movie scene and then when you come back from commercial break it will back up a bit in the show and replay part of it.
So Is It Worth Your Time?
Absolutely, but it’s probably not going to replace your subscription to Netflix. But for a free service it’s great for your favorite shows or movies you love.
Just don’t think that it’s going to replace your other services. It is however a great addition to your streaming viewing habits.
