10’s sales boss Rod Prosser confirmed Pluto TV is just months away from an Australian launch on the Unmade podcast with Tim Burrowes.
In the latest episode of the Unmade podcast by Tim Burrowes, Network 10’s parent company ViacomCBS’ Chief Sales Officer, Rod Prosser, joined Burrowes to discuss a turbulent decade for 10, predictions for 2022 revenue, and the reveal Pluto TV will be launching to Australian audiences – and it’s only months away.
Owned and operated by ViacomCBS, Pluto TV is set to be an AVOD (advertising-supported video on demand) service in Australia, much like free-to-air counterparts 9Now, 7plus, 10play, and SBS On Demand.
It means the service will be free to customers when it launches, unlike Paramount+ which ViacomCBS and 10 launched in August this year.
During the chat with Burrowes, Prosser explained how the on-demand market is growing and how 10 would make up the revenue that’s declining from audiences on linear TV.
Acknowledging that Paramount+ is playing into this market, Prosser then revealed Pluto TV’s roll out globally from the U.S. is making its way to Australia soon.
He said:
“We will soon launch another AVOD service in this market. Obviously we’ve got a fairly significant AVOD service being Pluto TV that’s being rolled out globally, and that will equally play into it.
“At some point, the digital revenue will outgrow the linear, but at this point it really is, Tim I hate to use this term, but it’s the meat and potatoes and drives the biggest part of our revenue. So it’s super important to us. We’ll continue investing in the linear. You’ll continue to see high quality good content being produced for the linear screen, but equally next year we’ll grow our library on 10play. So there’s a lot of investment going in there as well.”
A phenomenal success in the U.S. as a sister service to Paramount+, Burrowes asked Prosser just when Pluto TV will launch in Australia. Prosser said:
“Look, I’m probably letting the cat out of the bag a little bit here, but I’m not quite sure of the exact launch date, but one thing I can tell you is it’s coming and it won’t be too far off. We’re not talking years off. So, obviously we’ve got to get other things ready and right. But it’s certainly on its way to Australia at some point.”
Prosser also confirmed Pluto TV wouldn’t replaced 10play like Paramount+ did 10 All Access, instead both would be available to streamers. He said:
“I can’t see how they would merge, but at this point, look, we’re really enthusiastic about the 10play product. So we, as I said, we’ll continue to invest and grow that library to grow the overall minutes.”
Listen to the full podcast with Tim Burrowes and Rod Prosser, where they discuss further about 10’s future and revenue expectations, right here on the Unmade podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.
