Viacom’s streamer, Pluto TV, has launched a dedicated “Degrassi” channel on its ad-supported streaming platform. The pop-up channel will be programmed with “Degrassi: The Next Generation” and installments of the later “Degrassi” series.
The channel is available on Pluto TV in the U.S. and U.K., offering hundreds of episodes from the teen drama series, which were part of the wider “Degrassi” property, the longest-running drama franchise in Canadian history.
“Degrassi: The Next Generation” aired from 2001 to 2009. The show’s original cast included Drake (then Aubrey Graham), playing school basketballer Jimmy Brooks, and Nina Dobrev portraying Mia Jones.
“Degrassi” was reformatted in a later spinoff starting in 2010. It was restructured into a telenovela format with more than 40 episodes a season. It ended in 2015.
Pluto TV struck a deal with Canadian kids-and-family media company WildBrain, which owns and sells the “Degrassi” franchise, for the episodes for its channel.
Paul Edwards, VP of content acquisitions and partnerships for Pluto TV in Europe, said the service has found that its pop-up services play well with consumers and, with a targeted demographic tuning in, with advertisers. He told Variety that, while Pluto TV’s ethos is to provide a simple on-demand proposition in an increasingly cluttered landscape, the service could sustain up to 100 channels.
Viacom bought Pluto TV earlier this year for $340 million. The AVOD service has since been adding Viacom library fare to its lineup and continuing its international expansion, which was already well underway.