Is Tubi Topping the Streaming Totem Pole?
By Movieguide® Contributor
Tubi had a whopping 97 million monthly users and 10 billion streaming hours in 2024.
“Fox Corp. paid $440 million in 2020 to acquire the free, ad-supported streaming outlet and has recently projected it will bring in $1 billion in full-year revenue, up from $150 million at the time of the acquisition,” Deadline reported Jan. 6. “The outlet has become a welcome bright spot for the company, whose linear network assets are under ongoing pressure from pay-TV cord-cutting.”
According to Neilsen, the platform has higher viewing time than Max, Paramount+, Apple TV and Peacock. It’s currently tied with Roku Channel and is the No. 2 top free streamer after YouTube.
“Its sudden rise has come as something of a shock to many competitors, as well as investors,” The NY Times reported. “Unlike its biggest rivals, which allocate huge budgets for original programs or premium sports rights like the N.F.L. or the N.B.A., Tubi’s library contains tens of thousands of older shows and movies, many that seem to have been collected from the bargain bin. Some popular programs on the service include the 1970s procedural COLUMBO, and an early 2000s UPN sitcom, EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS.”
Tubi has some original content, but people flock to it the platform for movies and shows made around or before 2000.
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“The depth of Tubi’s catalog and their willingness to embrace more off-beat selections, rather than focusing exclusively on a small lineup of predictable classics, makes the free streaming service the vehicle of discovery these platforms were always meant to be,” Tom’s Guide observed.
“Tubi’s momentum is growing as audiences increasingly value a premium entertainment experience that is also 100% free, fun and reflective of culture,” Tubi CEO Anjali Sud said. “Our strategy is simple yet powerful: put viewers first by offering unique stories from unique storytellers, a vast selection of content to choose from and a delightful experience across devices. We let our viewers guide us and obsess over their engagement, and we are seeing the results.”
Tubi’s 2024 data revealed that over 34% of its viewers are 18-34. Over half are Gen Z or millennials and almost half are multicultural. And most of them (77%) do not have cable. The platform says 95% of its viewing is on demand and 5% is live.
“Built a decade ago from library film and TV titles, Tubi has expanded its offering of originals, which are now watched by one in four viewers, according to the company. Young adult romance SIDELINED: THE QB AND ME drew more viewers of any title in Tubi’s history in its first week last November and delivered the most new viewers for any Tubi title ever. In addition to the originals push, the streamer has also forged content partnerships with independent distributors and launched Stubios, a fan-driven studio aiming to harness the pot,” Deadline reported.
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