DistroTV
DistroTV is a free ad-supported streaming TV platform operated by DistroScale, Inc., offering hundreds of live FAST channels and on-demand video across 14+ connected TV, mobile, and web endpoints to global mass-market consumers, content owners, and device partners.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersSan Bruno, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What DistroTV does
DistroTV is a free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) platform operated by DistroScale, Inc., a privately held US company headquartered at 411 Borel Ave., #504, San Mateo, California. The service aggregates hundreds of live linear channels across news, sports, entertainment, music, movies, kids, lifestyle, devotional, and niche categories, alongside an on-demand video library, and serves a global mass-market consumer audience seeking free, legal access to international, regional, and specialty programming on connected TVs, streaming devices, mobile, and the web. The product is delivered through a proprietary DistroTV Video Player streamed over HTTP Live Streaming across a single content backend that fans out to 14+ device and platform endpoints (Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Google TV, Samsung, LG, Vizio, Sony, TCL, Xiaomi TV+, CloudTV, iOS, Android, and distro.tv), with built-in digital rights management, geo-filtering, and ad insertion.
DistroTV's business model is primarily advertising-supported: end users access the service at no subscription cost, monetized through pre-roll, mid-roll, post-roll, and interactive click-through advertising, with occasional transactional pay-per-view events billed nonrefundably at point of purchase, and ancillary licensing of the DistroTV Video Player through third-party distribution partner Access Points. Customer segments split between consumer-direct users and B2B partners, including smart TV original equipment manufacturers, cable/Internet service provider operators (e.g., GTPL Hathway Limited in India), streaming aggregators (MX Player, OTTplay, IN10 Media's EPIC ON), and content owners (TV9, Network18, Studio 17, Love Stories TV, Seven Colors Broadcasting, Bloomberg, Euronews, CGTN, TRACE, Stingray) that co-build and distribute themed FAST channels. The company's go-to-market relies on native app store distribution, content marketing through its DistroTV Blog, and earned media via co-branded partnership press releases, with a notable 2023-2024 push into India through high-profile partnerships marketed as building \"India's largest Live TV Streaming Service.\"
The company operates with 51-100 employees, has not disclosed funding or revenue, holds no disclosed patents or awards, and maintains an active operating status as of 2026. Strategic content and distribution partnerships span the US, India, Latin America, the UK, Canada, Sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia, and Australia, with geographic restrictions on content availability governed by rights. Competitive advantages center on breadth of distribution, content diversity, and a multi-region FAST channel catalog, while risks include dependency on advertising economics, platform partner relationships, and the absence of disclosed monetization metrics.
DistroTV firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- DistroTV
- Legal name
- DistroScale, Inc.
- Website
- https://distro.tv
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- DistroTV is a free ad-supported streaming TV platform operated by DistroScale, Inc., offering hundreds of live FAST channels and on-demand video across 14+ connected TV, mobile, and web endpoints to global mass-market consumers, content owners, and device partners.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
DistroTV industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV (FAST)
- NAICS
- Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (5162)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Live TV Streaming (vMVPD/IPTV OTT) (MPACAAAD)
Keywords
Where DistroTV is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Bruno
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
DistroTV business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Advertising-supported free streaming: Primary revenue stream: DistroTV offers free Services and Content to end users, monetized through advertising (including previews/trailers before and after content and click-through ad functionality in the Video Player).
- Pay-per-view events: One-time pay-per-view event purchases available within the Services; users are charged at the time of purchase and payments are nonrefundable, processed via Payment Method or third-party billing.
- Third-party distribution and licensing: Services are offered through third-party distribution partners, smart TV platforms, and app stores; DistroScale may license the Video Player through these Access Points under separate terms.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free, ad-supported streaming with optional pay-per-view purchases |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels5 records
DistroTV product offering
Product offeringCore offering
DistroTV operates a free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) platform offering hundreds of live linear FAST channels and an on-demand video library across news, sports, entertainment, movies, music, kids, devotional, lifestyle, and regional Desi/Indian content. Content is delivered through a proprietary Video Player across the distro.tv web property and native apps on major smart TV, streaming, and mobile platforms (Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Google TV, Samsung, LG, Vizio, Sony, TCL, Xiaomi, iOS, Android). The service is monetized primarily through advertising with occasional pay-per-view event purchases layered on top.
Product overview
DistroTV is a unified free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) platform offering both live linear channels and on-demand video through a single consumer brand ("DistroTV") operated by DistroScale, Inc. The core platform comprises two primary consumer experiences — DistroTV Live (hundreds of free live channels streamed via HLS) and DistroTV OnDemand (a VOD library reached through the /vod section) — delivered through a cross-device Video Player across web, iOS, Android, Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Google TV, Samsung, LG, Vizio, Sony, Xiaomi, TCL, OnePlus, CloudTV and Xiaomi TV+. Around this core, the platform packages its lineup as topic- and language-curated channel groupings (English Entertainment, English & International News, Movies, Sports & Games, Music, Radio, Kids, Food/Travel, Spirituality, Desi Entertainment, Hindi & Regional Entertainment, Español, International Entertainment, African, etc.) and individual FAST channel brands such as Wedding TV by Love Stories TV, Kids TV by Studio 17, TRACE Urban, Euronews, beIN SPORTS Xtra, Bollywood Masala, BOLLYWOOD TV, BOLLYWOOD 4U, THALAA TV, TOLLY TV, IndieBox, ENCORE+, Dove, Stingray radio/audio channels, and regional Desi/Indian channels. Strategic content-distribution partnerships (GTPL Hathway, MX Player, OTTplay, Network18, TV9, IN10 Media Network, Seven Colors Broadcasting, Love Stories TV, Studio 17) extend the same DistroTV product into additional operator and partner reach in India and globally.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- DistroTV Live The main free live TV streaming experience of DistroTV, aggregating hundreds of FAST channels across news, sports, entertainment, movies, music, kids, spirituality, and international categories, streamed via HLS through the proprietary DistroTV Video Player to mass-market consumers on smart TVs, streaming devices, mobile, and web.
- DistroTV OnDemand (VOD) The on-demand video library of DistroTV, offering television shows, movies, music, clips, and interactive features for free streaming-only viewing through the DistroTV Video Player, available to consumers across web and connected devices.
- DistroTV Pay-Per-View Events One-time pay-per-view event purchases available within the DistroTV service; users are charged at the time of purchase via payment method or third-party billing, with payments processed as nonrefundable transactions.
- Wedding TV by Love Stories TV A FAST linear wedding-themed channel built and distributed globally in partnership between DistroTV and Love Stories TV, targeting global audiences seeking wedding-related free streaming content.
- Kids TV (FAST Channel by Studio 17) A FAST linear children's channel co-built with Studio 17, advertised as the first FAST linear channel with multi-language audio supporting over a dozen languages, distributed to global audiences via the DistroTV platform.
Quantifiable outcome
- 180+ free live channels available in India via OTTplay partnership
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use DistroTV
Customer profileSegments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
DistroTV technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration15 records
Feature4 records
DistroTV partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
19 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.
- GTPL Hathway LimitedcoreStrategic partnership announced September 4, 2024 (San Mateo, California) under which GTPL Hathway Limited customers gain access to DistroTV's diverse streaming channels, extending DistroTV's footprint into India's cable ISP ecosystem.
- Seven Colors Broadcasting Pvt LtdcoreDistroTV expanded its Indian content offering (April 5, 2024) by adding Seven Colors Broadcasting's Indian music and culture channels — YRF Music, Sikh Ratnavali, Saga Music, and Saga Music Haryanvi — to the DistroTV lineup.
- IN10 Media NetworkflagshipContent & distribution partnership announced November 27, 2023 (San Bruno, California) under which DistroTV expands its content offering with IN10 Media Network's channels, and IN10 Media Network's EPIC ON streaming platform integrates DistroTV's streaming channels.
- Love Stories TVcorePartnership announced October 5, 2023 (San Bruno, California) to build and distribute 'Wedding TV by Love Stories TV' as a FAST linear channel to global DistroTV audiences, offering Love Stories TV an affordable way to expand globally.
- OTTplayflagshipPartnership announced September 26, 2023 (New Delhi / San Bruno) under which OTTplay and DistroTV stream 180 free live channels in India across News, Sports, Entertainment, Lifestyle and more, enabling Indian audiences to freely access live channels.
- Network18flagshipPartnership announced August 31, 2023 (Mumbai / San Bruno) bringing Network18's diverse portfolio of Indian channels to DistroTV users in India for the first time, streamed live and free.
- Studio 17corePartnership announced August 17, 2023 (San Bruno / Mumbai) to build and distribute the 'Kids TV' FAST linear channel to global DistroTV audiences; first FAST linear channel with multi-language audio supporting over a dozen languages.
- TV9 NetworkflagshipPartnership announced August 1, 2023 to bring TV9 Network's 7 leading Indian news channels to DistroTV users in India and worldwide across all streaming devices and smart TVs free of cost, expanding DistroTV's free streaming service in India.
- MX PlayerflagshipPartnership announced July 18, 2023 (San Bruno) to build "India's largest Live TV Streaming Service," enabling millions of MX Player users to watch 24/7 live streaming content from Indian and international channels via DistroTV.
- RokuflagshipDistroTV is distributed as a native channel on the Roku Channel Store (channel store ID 32b83fa4715bd6bfb0ed2e4e9d5d178b), making it accessible to Roku's installed base of connected-TV households.
- Amazon Fire TVflagshipDistroTV (by DistroScale, Inc.) is available as a native app on Amazon Fire TV via the Amazon Appstore, expanding reach into Amazon's Fire TV device ecosystem.
- Apple TV / Apple App StoreflagshipDistroTV app (ID 1446331553) is distributed via the Apple App Store for both Apple TV (tvOS) and iPhone (iOS), reaching Apple's installed base of iOS and tvOS users.
- Google TV / Android TV (Google Play)flagshipDistroTV app (com.distroscale.tv.android) is distributed via Google Play for Android TV / Google TV and Android mobile devices, providing access to Android-powered smart TVs and streaming devices.
- Samsung TVcoreDistroTV app is distributed through the Samsung US App Store (app ID G21007016246), making it available on Samsung Smart TVs.
- LG TVcoreDistroTV app is available on LG's smart TV app store (app ID 1100520), extending reach to LG Smart TV households.
- ViziocoreDistroTV app (appId vizio.distrotv) is distributed via Vizio's Smart TV Apps platform, enabling access on Vizio SmartCast TVs.
- Xiaomi TV+coreDistroTV is distributed via Xiaomi's Mi TV+ platform (global.mitvplus.mi.com), reaching Xiaomi's global smart TV installed base.
- CloudTVminorDistroTV is listed in CloudTV's operator app marketplace (cloudtvos.com/applications.php) for distribution to CloudTV-powered operator devices.
- JAMS Mediation, Arbitration, and ADR ServicesminorJAMS is designated as the arbitration administrator for resolving disputes between DistroScale/DistroTV and users under the Terms of Use (Section 10), in accordance with the JAMS Streamlined Arbitration Rules and Procedures.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
DistroTV competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- The Roku Channel: Roku-operated free ad-supported streaming service offering live FAST channels and on-demand movies/TV. Direct peer to DistroTV, especially given DistroTV's reliance on Roku as a distribution endpoint.
- Xumo: Comcast/Charter-owned free streaming service offering FAST linear channels and on-demand movies via smart TVs and streaming devices. Direct competitor in the US FAST market.
- Samsung TV Plus: Samsung Electronics' pre-installed free FAST service on Samsung Smart TVs offering hundreds of linear channels. Direct peer, particularly as DistroTV also relies on Samsung TV for distribution.
- Pluto TV: Paramount Global-owned free ad-supported streaming TV service offering hundreds of FAST linear channels across news, sports, entertainment, and movies. Closest direct competitor to DistroTV in the FAST category and consumer proposition.
- Stirr: Free ad-supported streaming service operated by Sinclair, offering FAST channels across news, sports, and entertainment. Smaller direct peer to DistroTV in the US FAST category.
- Tubi: Fox Corporation-owned free ad-supported streaming service combining FAST live channels with a large on-demand library. Direct FAST competitor to DistroTV with broader content depth and brand recognition in the US.
- LG Channels: LG Electronics' free FAST service pre-loaded on LG Smart TVs (webOS) offering hundreds of ad-supported linear channels. Direct competitor and platform partner analog to DistroTV's LG TV app.
Regional players
- JioTV: Reliance Jio's free live TV streaming service in India offering hundreds of Indian TV channels across genres. Direct regional competitor to DistroTV's India-focused FAST lineup built via MX Player, TV9, Network18, and IN10 partnerships.
- Rakuten TV: European-based free ad-supported streaming service (Rakuten Group) offering FAST channels and AVOD across European markets. Regional peer with similar FAST/free-with-ads model but limited US/India overlap.
Emerging players
- Plex: Plex has expanded from media-server software into free ad-supported live TV and on-demand streaming. Emerging FAST player with growing channel catalog and direct overlap with DistroTV's model.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
DistroTV social profiles
Digital presenceDistroTV compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
DistroTV financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
DistroTV leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
DistroTV funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
DistroTV M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about DistroTV
What does DistroTV do?
DistroTV operates a free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) platform offering hundreds of live linear FAST channels and an on-demand video library across news, sports, entertainment, movies, music, kids, devotional, lifestyle, and regional Desi/Indian content. Content is delivered through a proprietary Video Player across the distro.tv web property and native apps on major smart TV, streaming, and mobile platforms (Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Google TV, Samsung, LG, Vizio, Sony, TCL, Xiaomi, iOS, Android). The service is monetized primarily through advertising with occasional pay-per-view event purchases layered on top.
Is DistroTV a public or private company?
DistroTV is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was DistroTV founded?
DistroTV was founded in 2018. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is DistroTV based?
DistroTV is headquartered in San Bruno, United States, in the North America region.
How does DistroTV make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Advertising-supported free streaming is the primary driver. The others are pay-per-view events and third-party distribution and licensing.
Who are DistroTV's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are The Roku Channel, Xumo, Samsung TV Plus, Pluto TV, Stirr, Tubi and LG Channels. Regional players are JioTV and Rakuten TV. Plex is listed as an emerging player.
Does DistroTV have an API?
No public API is recorded for DistroTV.
What industry is DistroTV in?
DistroTV's product category is Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV (FAST). Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPACAAAD, Live TV Streaming (vMVPD/IPTV OTT). Its NAICS code is 5162.