- ViacomCBS owns Pluto TV, a free and ad-based platform similar in format to YouTube TV that will land in Brazil in late 2020;
- Earlier this year, WarnerMedia also announced a comprehensive deal to bring HBO and HBO Max to YouTube TV.
YouTube TV, a live-streaming service owned by Google, is gaining 14 new channels as a result of a new deal with media conglomerate ViacomCBS. The distribution agreement includes news, sports, and entertainment offerings.
The partnership is interesting because ViacomCBS owns Pluto TV, a free and ad-based platform similar in format to YouTube TV that has recently debuted in 17 Latin American countries and will land in Brazil in late 2020, as LABS revealed. YouTube TV has around 2 million subscribers, while Pluto TV has 22 million non-paying active users in the United States.
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. BET, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, TV Land and VH1 will launch on YouTube TV this summer. BET Her, MTV2, Nick Jr., NickToons, TeenNick and MTV Classic will also launch on YouTube TV at a later date. YouTube TV already features continued carriage of CBS broadcast stations, CBS Sports Network, Pop TV, Smithsonian Channel, and The CW, all controlled by Viacom.
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YouTube TV is a subscription service that streams live and on-demand TV from more than 70 networks in the U.S. territory. It is still unclear if Google plans to expand YouTube TV internationally.
Earlier this year, WarnerMedia announced a comprehensive relationship deal not only to bring HBO and Cinemax to YouTube TV, but also to use Google’s platform as a distribution channel to HBO Max, the streaming service that will launch in the U.S. on May 27th.
“We are thrilled to have reached an expanded agreement with YouTube TV that recognizes the full power of our newly combined portfolio as ViacomCBS,” said Ray Hopkins, president of U.S. Networks Distribution at ViacomCBS. “Google has been an excellent partner, and we look forward to bringing even more of our entertainment networks to YouTube TV subscribers for the first time.”
“We’re excited to launch ViacomCBS’ portfolio on YouTube TV this summer,” said Lori Conkling, Global Head of Partnerships at YouTube TV. “Our expanded partnership delivers on our promise to offer a premium portfolio of content to our YouTube TV subscribers, as well as across the YouTube platforms.”
