VEVO has struck a deal with Viacom’s Pluto TV for ten new music video channels.
Pluto TV is a free streaming service acquired by Viacom earlier this year.
The first channel to debut as part of the deal is VEVO Pop — launching today. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but VEVO is expected to roll out more channels in the future.
VEVO President of Sales and Distribution Kevin McGurn says the partnership was a natural one. A holiday-themed channel will be launching later this year.
“Pluto TV is an exciting partner for Vevo, enabling us to offer a linear-programmed lean-back music video experience to our audiences. Bringing music videos into the home alongside other linear and on-demand programming ensures that music videos are available to audiences on devices and platforms that are already integrated with their day-to-day lives.”
The launch of these new lean-back music video channels hearkens to the early days of MTV.
VEVO experimented with its own streaming offering back in 2013 but eventually discontinued the service in 2016. Now the company is focused on maximizing licensing revenue from third-party platforms — like Pluto TV.
VEVO has licensing deals with other popular streaming services like YouTube, Amazon, Roku, Apple, and others. It is the world’s largest premium music video provider with 26 billion monthly views and over 400,000 music videos in its catalog. The full channel line-up hasn’t been revealed, but you can check-out VEVO Pop on Pluto TV right now.
Pluto TV boasts over 18 million monthly active users in the United States alone. The service offers over 200 live, linear channels, and thousands of on-demand movies and TV shows.
The channel interface is designed to feel familiar to anyone who has used cable in the last 50 years. Content from Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, CNN, NBC News, and more can be viewed for free on the streaming service.