Katrina Kowalski Talks Pluto’s Television Strategy

Pluto TV’s Katrina Kowalski presented her overall programming scope and acquisition strategy for the platform at FAST Festival today.

Kowalski, senior vice president of international content programming and acquisitions for Paramount’s AVOD business and FAST Channel, participated in the inaugural Q&A with World Screen’s Anna Carugati, which can be viewed here Here.

Pluto TV celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, after launching in the U.S. on April 1, 2014. “At the time, the entire industry was moving away from traditional TV to subscription VOD. Here we were with this contradictory idea, leaning toward an ad-supported model. We defied the odds, and Pluto TV is now a real success. We learned that viewers still want a place where they can relax and enjoy a linear viewing experience. Having people who love the programming channels for our viewers gives us a unique advantage. There’s still this incredible nostalgia for the idea of ​​traditional TV, but of course with a future-proof digital twist that we’re excited to deliver.”

With a presence in over 35 markets, Pluto TV reaches an estimated 80 million viewers. Discussing her approach to content partnerships, Kowalski noted, “We have about 425 active partnerships around the world. We’re looking for amazing content. What’s more, we’re looking for true partnerships. We want to achieve success together, often by co-curating channels to create a unique destination. We work together on marketing campaigns and how we advertise our offerings in the press. We want our partners to think about their audiences the way we do, taking care of smaller, granular details like versioning or dubbing. But also partners who can appreciate the expertise we bring as pioneers in the FAST space to make their content stand out on the platform.”

On the topic of “doing best on FAST channels,” Kowalski boiled it down to programming “that’s easy for people to watch. Most often, it’s procedural content where you don’t have to follow a storyline, although we’ve seen some success in that. In terms of the most successful categories, crime, comedy, and classic television are the top performers in almost every market. Reality is also the top category. As you start to dig deeper into genres, we’re seeing significant fandoms for Westerns, paranormal, horror, and true crime. Anime is having a real moment. There’s success in more traditionally broad genres and a lot of interest in niche programming. Our goal is to continue to serve those fans on both sides.”

Kowalski shared more about the platform’s content curation team. “They’re the heart of the content strategy,” she said. “We have content editors in all of our local markets. They’re more familiar with their region than anyone outside of their region. They’re advocates for their audience. These people love content. Sometimes they can be in one genre. We have people who are into horror, the paranormal, true crime. That’s amazing, especially when you’re trying to build a niche audience. That, coupled with their love and passion for TV and film, they understand data. They’re incredibly adept at analyzing consumption data constantly to inform how they curate and program channels. It’s a perfect blend of art and science.”

In addition to general entertainment, sports and news are also important to Pluto TV, Kowalski noted. “They do the heavy lifting for us in different ways,” she said. “For example, in Canada, we have 13 news channels through our partnership with Corus and their global news team, so we can deliver news to several cities in each province. That creates frequent and habitual viewing. The trick is to get those fans to watch more content, so that when they finish their daily news, they can watch a comedy, a documentary, a movie or a crime series.”

Similarly, sports “are a huge and important user driver. We’ve seen that with several live events that we offer. Through our partnership with DAZN, we’ve unblocked several live darts championships this year, which have had some really spectacular user engagement. Sports are definitely doing a great job of driving repeat users and even new users. Similar to what I said with news, we can leverage sports events and increase discoverability of other content.”

Kowalski emphasized the importance of curating a programming mix to meet the needs of each market. “No two markets are the same. The audience, the cultural sensitivity, even the sense of humor; everything is unique. That’s such an important part of our overall content strategy. Yes, we’ve seen some global phenomena like South Park, NCIS Or CSI; Hollywood blockbusters that have traveled and are powerhouses in almost every market they enter. Some local offerings are equally powerful. Last year we acquired Hotel Paradise in the 15th season in the Nordic countries. It was a special moment for Pluto TV. This show alone made Pluto TV the most downloaded app in the region. Viewers appreciate the local atmosphere.”

Kowalski discussed how Pluto TV teams use data to make content decisions. “The beauty of the digital world is that data is at our fingertips almost immediately. We rely on it, we make changes, we iterate on it. We want to make sure we’re constantly making data-driven decisions to evolve the service. Sometimes a show has a huge audience and we keep that on the platform for as long as possible. Sometimes a show has a smaller audience, but the minutes per viewer are growing, so we know we have a niche audience. The way we read the data, analyze it, and make those decisions can vary by region, show, genre, or even season. Data is key. We couldn’t be where we are without it.”

Pluto TV also benefits from cross-pollination opportunities at Paramount. “For example, last year in Canada, when Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Part One we entered the cinemas, we lit up Mission Impossible a feat on Canadian television Pluto that allowed us to unlock the entire past Mission Impossible movies for a short period of time. All this was aimed at supporting Mission: Impossible – Dead reckoningbut also, we were able to use the period spirit of the film for Pluto TV.”

Similarly, Pluto TV showed Frasier when the reboot premiered on sister SVOD service Paramount+. “We were able to show teasers or trailers for Paramount+ originals, all to encourage more people to check out and subscribe to Paramount+. We can all work together and support each other.”