Pluto TV, the Viacom-owned streaming TV company, has added eight new channels to its free service, including one dedicated solely to a show where puppets re-enact prank phone calls made by celebrities.
“Crank Yankers” was a hit nearly two decades ago when it first aired on Comedy Central. The show, created by Adam Carolla and Jimmy Kimmel, features stand-up comedians placing real prank phone calls to unsuspecting people. Those calls are re-enacted by puppets who take on the lives of the characters voiced by the comedians.
The show aired on Comedy Central from 2002 to 2005, then was revived for a second airing on MTV 2 in 2007. A third revival of the show with a slightly re-tooled format began airing on Comedy Central this year.
The new shows are exclusive to Comedy Central and its app, but Comedy Central’s parent company Viacom is making classic episodes of the show available to stream for free on Pluto TV.
In addition to the Crank Yankers channel, CBSN Los Angeles, CBSN New York, Vevo Pop, Court TV and a channel featuring clips from NBC’s Today Show also launched to Pluto TV users.
Pluto TV is available in web browsers, on smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, game consoles and on Comcast’s X1 set-top box.
