Paramount Global, flexing its corporate synergy muscles, is pulling a massive batch of TV shows out of the CBS vault and putting them on its free, ad-supported Pluto TV service.
Popular CBS classic series coming to Pluto’s linear streaming service through the end of 2022 include “Frasier” and “Cheers” (in the Sitcom Legends channel); “Star Trek: The Original Series” and “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” (Star Trek channel); “Have Gun – Will Travel” and “The Wild Wild West” (Westerns TV channel) and “Petticoat Junction” (Classic TV Comedy channel).
On the on-demand side, Pluto is adding more than 6,300 episodes — tripling the amount of CBS series currently available on-demand on the streamer — including crime dramas “Criminal Minds” and “Hawaii Five-O.”
Other titles on tap for Pluto TV’s on-demand include “Beverly Hills 90210,” “The Brady Bunch,” “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,” “Everybody Hates Chris,” “Family Ties,” “Gunsmoke,” “Laverne & Shirley,” “The Love Boat,” “MacGyver,” “Matlock,” “Moesha,” “Mork & Mindy,” “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” “Scorpion,” “Sister, Sister,” “Taxi,” “The Twilight Zone” and “Webster.”
In the last three years, CBS’s presence on Pluto TV has grown from an initial offering of three channels to more than 40 to date, comprising more than 100 series across genres. Last year, CBS added the “rolling four” to Pluto TV, offering the most recent four in-season episodes of primetime series to stream on-demand for free.
Last month Pluto TV spun off two additional CSI channels, “CSI: Miami” and “CSI: New York.” Additional CBS programming recently added to Pluto TV linear include “NCIS” and “Criminal Minds” as well as a specially curated branded channel featuring past interviews from news program “60 Minutes.”
According to Paramount, CBS is now the No. 1 driver of audience engagement and revenue on the Pluto TV platform, even before the additional content gets pumped into the service.
“Pluto TV and CBS are both proven leaders delivering world-class entertainment to global audiences,” states Tom Ryan, president and CEO of Paramount Streaming. “With unrivaled access to the coveted CBS library, Pluto TV is able to deliver the best of both worlds to our viewers – world-class, evergreen programming with flexible viewing options, all for free.”
CBS president/CEO George Cheeks added that the partnership with Pluto TV is “a great example of how having a big network and studio partnered closely with a FAST [free, ad-supported television] platform can supercharge our streaming ecosystem.”
Here are the 49 CBS shows coming to Pluto TV’s on-demand service throughout November and December: The Andy Griffith Show; Becker; Beverly Hillbillies; Beverly Hills 90210; Brady Bunch; Charmed; Criminal Minds; CSI: Miami; CSI: New York; Diagnosis Murder; Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman; Everybody Hates Chris; Family Ties; Flashpoint; The Fugitive; Girlfriends; Gunsmoke; Half & Half; Have Gun Will Travel; Hawaii Five-O; Hot Bench; JAG; Laverne & Shirley; The Love Boat; MacGyver; Man With a Plan; Matlock; Mission Impossible; Moesha; Mork & Mindy; Numbers; The Odd Couple; One on One; The Parkers; Perry Mason; Petticoat Junction; Pink Collar Crimes; Rachael Ray; Rescue 911; Sabrina the Teenage Witch; Scorpion; Sister, Sister; Taxi; Touched by an Angel; The Twilight Zone; Webster; The Wild Wild West; Wings; WoW – Women Of Wrestling.
Pictured above: Thomas Gibson and Mandy Patinkin in “Criminal Minds”
