Tubi is one of the largest free ad-supported streaming services. With hundreds of live channels and tens of thousands of on-demand titles, it has a loyal following.
Recently rumors started to fly around that Tubi would start charging a $9.99 subscription fee. Now Tubi has publicly come out to say no these reports are not true.
Some may be happy to pay Tubi for ad-free access to Tuib but even if Tubi wanted to the contracts they have likely are only good for ad-supported. Often rights to movies and TV shows are sold to multiple streaming services for different markets. Tubi may have the right to air a movie or TV show with ads on a free platform but a different service may have the contract to offer it without ads.
For now, the good news is fans of Tubi’s free ad-supported service won’t be asked to pay anything as they enjoy all the movies and TV shows Tubi has to offer.
Recently Fox the parent company of Tubi also announced that Tubi now has 50,000 on-demand titles along with a large number of live channels with Tubi. To help grow its lineup Fox has struck a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery to add content from their networks. This helped Tubi attract new viewers in the 1st quarter of 2023.
“Tubi’s Silicon Valley roots and proprietary purpose-built tech drives a superior and fully integrated experience for advertisers that’s high impact with low ad loads and deep niches for targeting,” said Paul Cheesbrough, CEO of Tubi Media Group. “As the #1 AVOD service in the U.S. it shows, as Tubi continues to grow on all fronts posting record ad revenue and total viewing time growth numbers quarter after quarter.”
“Tubi viewers have incredibly personalized journeys because our massive library serves up an endless stream of captivating, bingeable content that feels like it was made for you,” said Mark Rotblat, Tubi Chief Revenue Officer. “One percent of all streaming and TV viewership is now on Tubi, making us the largest and fastest growing free ad supported streaming service in the U.S., and if you double-click on only ad-supported viewership our share is significantly higher. Advertisers’ audiences are on Tubi and the brands should be in a bigger way too.”
Fox seems to have used its 2023 Super Bowl broadcast to help grow Tubi with several viral ads that helped pushed growth. The question now is can they keep it up now that the viral ad is in the past.