Tom Ryan, Pluto TV

Education: Dartmouth College

Pluto TV co-founder Ryan oversaw the AVOD’s $340 million acquisition by Viacom. Under Ryan’s leadership, the platform went from 6 million monthly active users in 2018 to its current base of over 22 million. In March, the service launched in LATAM, with over 100 channels expected by the end of 2020. And don’t forget the deals with Samsung, Vizio and Vidaa to integrate Pluto into the platforms, further expanding the reach of over 250 channels.

The COVID-19 pandemic forever changed my perspective on:
The value of remote working

Number of subscriptions to streaming services: 
Five, which is about double the number the average streaming household has and, hence, the opportunity for free streaming television. As consumers are now creating their own television bundles via a handful of streaming apps and are only willing to pay for two or three, Pluto TV allows any streaming household to expand that bundle by hundreds of live channels and thousands of on-demand movies and TV shows for free. And for that reason, it’s the largest opportunity in streaming today from an audience perspective.

When restaurants open back up, my first stop will be…
Cecconi’s West Hollywood

Slack channel I spend most of my time on?
Pluto’s #app-reviews channel on Slack where I hear directly from our users and read their reviews of Pluto TV across our many apps. This feedback, along with the feedback we get on Twitter and Reddit, is priceless.

My prediction for AVODs is….
It’s the single largest opportunity in streaming today from an audience perspective. As consumers are now creating their own television bundles via a handful of streaming apps but are only willing to pay for two or three of them, Pluto TV allows any streaming household to expand that bundle by hundreds of live channels and thousands of on-demand movies and TV shows for free. And with our recent launch in Latin America, we are now in 22 countries across three continents and scaling globally.

Working from home has taught me…
That being a CEO and entrepreneur is child’s play compared to managing three little kids on lockdown.

Worst job you ever had? 
Cleaning the stalls at the pet shop when I was 16. The pet cages were behind a giant glass wall where customers and lots of kids from my high school would come to look at all the cute puppies…and me…cleaning poop. Sort of like being on TV, but not in a good way.

Honored For: