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Pluto TV refreshes lineup, will add new game show programming

A graphic for the Judge Judy Channel on Pluto TV.
A graphic for the Judge Judy Channel on Pluto TV. (Photo: Pluto TV/Paramount Global, Graphic by The Desk)

Free streaming service Pluto TV has re-organized its linear streams, launching fresh channels on the streamer and moving others to different categories.

On Monday, Pluto TV said it would add five new categories to the free streamer, including one dedicated to game shows that will eventually include 24/7 feeds of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!, both distributed by Sony Pictures Television.

All told, Pluto TV will offer more than a dozen categories of linear channels, including News & Opinion, Daytime TV, Food, Movies and Comedy. It also offers categories for children’s programming and content in Spanish.

Launching as part of the refresh is a new channel dedicated to  “Let’s Make A Deal,” the CBS game show hosted by comedian Wayne Brady (CBS and Pluto TV are both owned by Paramount Global; Pluto TV operates as a semi-autonomous unit within the company).

Judge Judy is also getting a channel of her own, with the Judge Judy Channel incorporated in the new Daytime TV category alongside content streams of talk shows, other courtroom dramas and soap operas.

Streams for Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! are slated to launch on August 1, a Pluto TV spokesperson said in a press release on Monday.

In a statement, a Pluto TV executive said the changes were in response to viewer habits and requests.

“Not only is this expansion driven by viewing habits we can see, we spoke directly to our audience to gain feedback on suggested changes before they were made,” Scott Reich, a senior executive in charge of programming at Pluto TV, said on Monday. “Everything we do puts the audience first and this optimization is the latest step to maintain our market leadership in partnership with our audience.”

In addition to the linear channels, Pluto TV also offers movies and TV shows for on-demand viewing. To date, the service says it has more than 43,000 movies and TV episodes available in its on-demand library, which is also free to access.

The streaming service has more than 68 million monthly active users and is available to view in parts of North America, South America and Europe. It can be accessed on most popular smartphones, tablets, streaming TV devices and smart TV sets, including Apple’s iOS, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Android TV (Google TV) hardware.

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About the Author:

Matthew Keys

Matthew Keys is a nationally-recognized, award-winning journalist who has covered the business of media, technology, radio and television for more than 11 years. He is the publisher of The Desk and contributes to Know Techie, Digital Content Next and StreamTV Insider. He previously worked for Thomson Reuters, the Walt Disney Company, McNaughton Newspapers and Tribune Broadcasting. Connect with Matthew on LinkedIn by clicking or tapping here.