Pluto TV finished second in a survey of more than 1,000 Cord Cutters News readers, drawing 24.2 percent support among free ad-supported streaming services. The result puts Tom Ryan’s service behind The Roku Channel, which took 31.1 percent, and shows how close the race remains among cord cutters choosing no-cost streaming options.
Tom Ryan and Pluto TV
Tom Ryan helped found Pluto TV in Los Angeles in 2013 with Ilya Pozin and Nick Grouf, and the service went live with its public beta in early 2014. That timeline matters because Pluto TV is not a newcomer in this market; it has had years to build a position while free ad-supported streaming moved from niche to mainstream.
Pluto TV later became part of Paramount Global after Viacom acquired it in 2019 for approximately 340 million dollars. It operates across multiple countries, and its lower-ranked finish in this survey lands even as the service remains one of the best-known names in the category.
The Roku Channel at 31.1 percent
The Roku Channel led the survey with 31.1 percent, a 6.9-point edge over Pluto TV and a slim 0.4-point margin over Tubi at 23.8 percent. For a market built on free access, that spread suggests viewers are sorting services by convenience and programming mix, not just brand familiarity.
The Roku Channel launched in September 2017 and later secured licensing agreements with Sony Pictures, Warner Bros., MGM, Lionsgate, Disney, and Paramount Pictures. It also became available in Canada and added a web-based version accessible through internet browsers, giving it more entry points than a single-device experience.
Tubi at 23.8 percent
Tubi received 23.8 percent of responses, leaving Pluto TV only 0.4 percentage points ahead of a service that entered the market in April 2014 and was founded in San Francisco. Tubi was acquired by Fox Corporation in 2020 for roughly 440 million dollars, a number that shows how much value the free streaming segment has attracted.
The survey also found that 11.4 percent of participants said they do not use any free ad-supported services, while all other services together accounted for 0.5 percent. That leaves the category concentrated in a three-way contest, with Pluto TV still in the top tier but no longer able to separate itself from the pack.
Pluto TV in the survey
The practical takeaway for viewers is simple: Pluto TV still has scale, but it does not own the category in the way a market leader would. With The Roku Channel ahead and Tubi close behind, the next fight is less about awareness than about which service gives cord cutters the easiest daily habit.
For Pluto TV, the harder question is why its long runway, global reach, and established ownership under Paramount Global still leave it behind The Roku Channel in this reader survey. That is the gap the numbers expose, and it is the one the service has to close if it wants to turn recognition into preference.
