Pluto TV to launch in Spain at end of October

Pluto TV, the ad-supported streaming service from ViacomCBS, will launch in Spain at the end of October, the broadcaster has said.

The free streamer will be available to Spanish audiences via browser, smart TV and mobile apps, and will launch with 40 thematic channels.

Pluto claims that it will be the first free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) service on the Spanish market, and added that Telefónica’s Movistar+ will handle ad sales.

The company also said that it will work with over 20 content partners in Spain including All3Media, Endemol Shine, Fremantle and Lionsgate.

Raffaele Annecchino, president ViacomCBS EMEA and Asia, Digital and Mobile Strategy VCNI, said: “This innovative service perfectly complements our linear and non-linear offering in Spain. Pluto TV has shown great success in the USA, and this launch in Spain marks an important step of our expansion in Europe, where the service is already available in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and the UK. I’m convinced that Pluto TV will revolutionize the Spanish streaming and TV market, introducing a new model of watching content based on curated channels and vertical content.

“Thanks to our partnership with Movistar+ on the advertising side, we are in a great position to drive significant growth, in parallel with our content expansion goal, to have 100 channels by the end of 2021”.

Movistar+ president Sergio Oslé, added: “Pluto TV represents a new asset and value proposition for Movistar+ within the advertising market. It’s model is based on targeting high quality environments, top brand safety and premium quality content that offers new TV viewing with multi-platform audiovisual contents.

“As premium and secure purchasing formats and models are more adapted to the digital world, we remain committed to working towards the digital transformation of TV advertising. This partnership is a step forward in the continuous improvement of our capabilities as an innovative platform and advertising marketer.”

This will mark the latest expansion for Pluto since its January 2019 acquisition by Viacom, following the April launch in Latin America. The streamer will also launch in Brazil in December.