[1] Founded by Tom Ryan, Ilya Pozin and Nick Grouf in 2013 and based in Los Angeles, California,[2] Pluto is available in the Americas and Europe.

[3][4] The service's revenue is generated from video advertisements seen during programming within commercial breaks structured similarly to those found on conventional television.

[9] Pluto TV has live channels based on Viacom properties like Nickelodeon, MTV, and Comedy Central since being acquired by the company.

Pluto TV first launched its beta website on March 31, 2014, and was co-founded by chairman and CEO Nick Grouf, Tom Ryan, and Ilya Pozin.

[13] On July 1, 2015, Pluto TV announced that it had signed a deal with Hulu (now Disney-owned) to distribute the ad-supported video content available for free on Hulu's website including current-season episodes of programs from ABC, NBC and Fox, recent and older classic television series, and domestic and foreign animated programs.

In the weeks preceding the Hulu deal, Pluto TV had separately reached content agreements with AOL, Endemol Beyond USA, Shout!

Factory, Jukin Media and YouTube content channels Devin SuperTramp, Multicom, Around the World in 4K and Amazing Places on Our Planet to distribute their programming on the service.

[19] On May 15, 2017, Pluto TV launched a traditional video-on-demand offering, consisting a large library of films and television series licensed from such distributors as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Viacom (which acquired the service itself two years later), Sony Pictures, Fremantle, Monstercat, King Features Syndicate along with two Canadian studios, Nelvana and WildBrain that are made available for individual viewing to Pluto users.

This service is built into several models of Vizio's line of Internet-connected smart TVs, particularly those supporting its SmartCast operating system, and is advertised as having "an easy-to-navigate, cable-like interface".

[35] On May 1, 2019, Pluto introduced branded channels based on Viacom Media Networks-owned cable outlets and other Viacom properties, including content from Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon, BET, Comedy Central, VH1, Logo, TV Land and MTV, along with Spike-branded channels based on the network's past formats of men's interest and outdoors programming.

[43][44][45] Following the announcement, Deadline Hollywood, citing sources within the company, identified Pluto TV as a potential outlet for CBS streaming content.

ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish stated that Pluto TV—which will remain a free, standalone offering—would be part of the company's refocusing on three core streaming services, alongside the subscription-based CBS All Access and Showtime's OTT service, which would act as its mid-level and premium offerings and which Pluto will also be used to upsell along with ViacomCBS's other niche streaming platforms.

[63] On October 8 of that same year, ViacomCBS announced Pluto TV's launch in Spain, Italy and France, with 40 channels and thousands of hours of on-demand content.

[74] On October 31, 2022, Pluto TV announced that it would add 6,300 episodes of classic CBS-distributed series to its on-demand library by the end of 2022, including Cheers, Criminal Minds, Frasier, and Star Trek.

[75] On December 1, 2022, Pluto TV launched in Canada in partnership with Corus Entertainment, which is handling marketing and Canadian advertising sales.

Corus also contributed channels to the service that are drawn from its networks and libraries, such as Global News, Property Brothers, Anna Olson, and Bryan Baeumler.

[76][77] The next day, the service added additional Christmas-related channels for the holiday season, as well as More Star Trek, Confess by Nosey, and AMC en Español.

[79] On April 11, 2023, Pluto TV launched the CBS Sports Golazo Network in the United States to take advantage of Paramount Global's worldwide soccer rights, including discussion shows and live games.

[80] On November 1, 2023, Paramount announced that Pluto TV would merge with My5 in the UK, with its full launch date set to be planned for the second half of 2024.