Tubi, a division of Fox Entertainment, Sept. 16 announced a record 33 million monthly users in August, up 65% from the previous-year period. Since April and coronavirus pandemic, Tubi has averaged 200 million hours per month — an average monthly increase of 104% year-over-year.
Internationally, Tubi saw record increases in all countries where it operates. Year-over-year viewership rose 95% in Canada, and 242% in Australia. The company launched operations in Mexico this past June and has seen 900% growth.
“Tubi’s surge in viewership is a testament to 2020 becoming the year of AVOD,” CEO Farhad Massoudi said in a statement. “As we further grow our offering and capitalize on our partnership across Fox’s IP, we continue to develop a unique value proposition for many of today’s households seeking cost-free premium entertainment.”
Separately, the service announced the launch of Tubi en Español, a dedicated Spanish-language destination within the Tubi app, on Roku devices in the U.S. Presented by Metro by T-Mobile and offering more than 1,000 titles and more than 3,000 hours of content, Tubi en Español features titles such as Biutiful, El Callejón De Los Milagros, El Violín, Ma Ma,Juana La Virgen, MasterChef Colombia, and MasterChef México. Tubi en Español complements Tubi’s overall library of more than 23,000 catalog movies and television shows.
AVOD service Tubi, a division of Fox Entertainment, has named Carolyn Forrest SVP, general counsel.
Forrest moves into the new role from Fox Television Stations.
She reports to Tubi CEO Farhad Massoudi, is based in San Francisco, and will serve as the company’s chief legal officer, overseeing its business affairs and legal team and advising on broad-ranging media law-related issues.
“Carolyn combines vast knowledge across the industry with a proven track record of guiding media companies with strategic IP legal oversight,” Massoudi said in a statement. “We’re thrilled she will be joining us at a key time for the company as we ramp up our global content and advertising initiatives.”
Forrest has worked as an in-house counsel for media companies for the past 28 years. Most recently, she served as VP of legal affairs for Fox Television Stations, where she was responsible for advising its 29 television stations on media law-related issues. Prior to joining Fox, she was VP and general counsel for New World Television, which Fox acquired in 1997, and she worked for NBC as an assistant general attorney. Prior to that, Forrest worked for Dow Lohnes & Albertson as an associate in the media litigation group and at the New York law firm Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom as an associate in its corporate and M&A litigation group.
Forrest is currently serving as the immediate past chair of the American Bar Association Forum on Communications Law — previously serving as its chairperson and as a member of its Governing Committee. She also serves on the board of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation. Forrest is a graduate of Columbia University School of Law and Princeton University.
With total view time reaching 200 million hours of content streamed in April, Tubi (www.tubi.tv) has more than 20,000 movies and television shows from every major Hollywood studio, according to the service.
Fox Entertainment’s AVOD service Tubi (www.tubi.tv) bring 30 seasons of cult show “The Joy of Painting,” featuring the Bob Ross, to its library on the Docurama channel from Cinedigm.
More than 30 seasons and nearly 400 episodes will stream on Tubi by the end of July.
“Bob Ross and his unforgettable style make ‘The Joy of Painting’ the epitome of comfort TV,” said Adam Lewinson, chief content officer of Tubi, in a statement. “Tubi is proud to be a streaming home for this timeless and beloved series.”
“’The Joy of Painting’ has never been more popular, as evidenced by the ever-growing following and tremendous view count that Ross has garnered on social media platforms,” said Erick Opeka, president of Cinedigm Digital Networks, in a statement. “We are thrilled to be working with Tubi to introduce new audiences to this iconic program.”
In 1983 along with his partners Annette and Walt Kowalski, Ross launched the show on public television. From 1983 through 1994, Bob recorded more than 400 episodes and “The Joy of Painting” became one of the most popular and well-known shows on public television. His passion for teaching and inspiring others lives on today through the thousands of instructors who teach his method around the world. For many fans, Ross is the “King of ASMR,” the audio sensory meridian response that keeps people tuned in and watching his every move. He can also be found today at the forefront of an exciting and inspirational wellness movement.
With total view time reaching a milestone 200 million hours of content streamed in April, Tubi has more 20,000 movies and television shows from nearly every major Hollywood studio.
Tubi is available on Android and iOS mobile devices, Amazon Echo Show, Google Nest Hub Max, Comcast Xfinity X1, Cox Contour, and on OTT devices such as Amazon Fire TV, Vizio TVs, Sony TVs, Samsung TVs, Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, Android TV, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4, and soon on Hisense TVs globally. Consumers can also watch Tubi content on the web at http://www.tubi.tv/.
Since Fox Corp. acquired Tubi TV earlier this year for $440 million, it has aggressively sought to meld the ad-supported VOD platform with its programing and management.
Tubi July 1 announced it has entered an exclusive ad sales partnership with Australian media company Foxtel Group. As part of this collaboration, Foxtel Media will serve as the sole ad sales representative in Australia for Tubi through 2022.
Headquartered in San Francisco, Tubi streams movies and TV shows from nearly every major Hollywood studio. The service has more than 200 million monthly views and is available in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Mexico.
For Foxtel Media, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., Tubi adds a key free-to-the-viewer ad-supported component to its portfolio of live sports, lifestyle, entertainment content and news. In an advertising world that is increasingly powered by data targeting capabilities, Foxtel Media now straddles the fence marketing between free and subscription-based content distributors.
“Our collaboration with Foxtel Media delivers an optimally localized relationship and trusted team for advertisers in Australia,” Tubi CEO Farhad Massoudi said in a statement.
Mark Frain, CEO of Foxtel Media, says the technology behind Tubi has enabled the AVOD to rapidly build viewership across Australia and Mexico.
“We have the opportunity to connect brands and advertisers to Tubi’s outstanding proposition in this market,” Frain said.
Tubi is available in Australia on Telstra, Android and iOS mobile devices, Amazon Echo Show, Google Nest Hub Max, and on streaming media devices such as Amazon Fire TV, Vizio TVs, Sony TVs, Samsung TVs, Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, Android TV, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4, and soon on Chinese Hisense TVs globally.
With tens of millions of its viewers consuming ad-supported video-on-demand content, Tubi wants a better picture who its users are.
Tubi, which is owned by Fox Corp., is partnering with TransUnion to enhance the way consumers engage and interact with content platforms.
The partnership enables Tubi to deliver curated content and viewer experiences by establishing a more “enriched view” of individuals and households. Tubi hopes the pact will advertisers “seamlessly bridge” the gap between individual and household, and deliver a more personalized ad experience alongside the content.
“The integration of TransUnion data assets can help companies connect the dots to gain a more comprehensive understanding of today’s consumer and reach them with confidence – especially as they move and consume content in new ways,” Matt Spiegel, EVP of marketing solutions and media vertical at TransUnion, said in a statement.
Spiegel said the decline of third-party cookies combined with changing media consumption habits, alternative identifiers such as home IP address are imperative for building a strong foundation of individual-level identity and reaching consumers on devices like connected TVs.
Mark Rotblat, chief revenue officer at Tubi, said the partnership will help the platform create more informed audience targeting and media strategies to identify the best types of content and connect that to relevant messaging for viewers.
By creating a linkage from a device ID, Tubi said it can draw insights around consumer preference and deliver better content personalization and recommendations for users.
“Incorporating this information often results in better performing campaigns and more engaged viewers,” Rotblat said. “Tubi’s strength is in the data surrounding content viewing behavior.”
Tubi, the ad-supported video on demand service owned by Fox Corp., April 14 began rolling out “Tubi Kids” on Android. Tubi Kids will be available to all Android users in the coming days, expanding its current availability on Roku, Fire TV and Comcast Xfinity.
“Collaborating with one of the most widely used operating brands is key in our mission to democratize content and provide value to our customers,” Michael Ahiakpor, chief product officer at Tubi, said in a statement.
Tubi Kids features a library of children’s content — over 1,200 age-appropriate movies and television shows just for families. A destination for age-appropriate content on the service, Tubi Kids is intended to helps alleviate parents’ worries over what their children are watching and will soon be available on all major streaming devices in the near future.
Tubi Kids movies include Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of TinTin, Norm of the North and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, alongside series “Sonic the Hedgehog,” “Strawberry Shortcake,” “Paddington Bear,” and “The Wiggles,” among others.
With total view time topping 163 million hours watched since December, Tubi claims to be the world’s largest AVOD service with more than 20,000 movies and television shows from nearly every major Hollywood studio.
Tubi is available on Android and iOS mobile devices, Amazon Echo Show, Google Nest Hub Max, Comcast Xfinity X1, Cox Contour, and on OTT devices such as Amazon Fire TV, Vizio TVs, Sony TVs, Samsung TVs, Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, Android TV, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4, and soon on Hisense TVs globally.
Fox Corp., the Rupert Murdoch-controlled media company following the sale of 21st Century Fox to Disney, March 17 said it has acquired ad-supported video-on-demand service Tubi TV for $440 million in cash. Fox used its previous 5% ownership stake in Roku to fund the transaction.
Tubi founder/CEO Farhad Massoudi will continue to head the service. The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to close before June 30.
The purchase price is about $100 million more than what ViacomCBS paid for Pluto TV last year. The deal underscores media companies’ desire to enter the over-the-top video space with an alternative product to SVOD platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu.
Tubi brings Fox an expanded consumer offering with a sizable, younger-skewing and directly connected user base that spends over 160 million hours per month watching content on the service.
San Francisco-based Tubi, which is currently available on more than 25 digital platforms in the United States, features over 20,000 titles and 56,000 hours of film and episodic television programming from over 250 content partners, including many of the major studios. The combination of Tubi’s reach, the resonance of its content and the quality of its technology platform have doubled the service’s usage and monetization over the last 12 months.
“Tubi will immediately expand our direct-to-consumer audience and capabilities and will provide our advertising partners with more opportunities to reach audiences at scale,” CEO Lachlan Murdoch said in a statement.
Fox plans to continue to run Tubi as an independent service anchored by its consumer offering of licensed entertainment content. Fox said it would “evaluate” opportunities to expand the AVOD offering not through original content, but rather in a cost-effective manner by leveraging “its expertise” in national and local news and sports programming.
Fox Corp. owns and operates Fox News and SVOD platform Fox Nation, among other properties.
“Tubi provides a substantial base from which we will drive long-term growth in the direct-to-consumer arena,” Murdoch said.
On the sale of Fox’s ownership stake in Roku, Murdoch said the company continues to admire the ongoing accomplishments of founder/CEO Anthony Wood and his team.
“We are pleased to expand our partnership with them as a result of the Tubi acquisition,” he said.
AVOD service Tubi saw its monthly active users reach 25 million in December with a total view time (TVT) of more than 163 million hours watched — a year-over-year TVT increase of 160%.
The company plans to grow content spending in 2020 to “exceed nine figures to further expand its current library of content from major studios, indies, and TV producers from around the globe,” according to a press release.
Tubi presently works with more than 250 content partners, which include Warner Bros., Paramount and Lionsgate.
Year-over-year in Canada and Australia, Tubi saw a 357% increase in TVT. In the coming year, Tubi will launch in additional territories, including Mexico and the United Kingdom. Recently, Tubi announced a partnership with one of the largest broadcasters in Mexico — TV Azteca — to provide Spanish language content.
Tubi also recently announced a global deal with TV manufacturer Hisense to include Tubi as part of its Vidaa platform.
In 2019, Tubi increased its headcount to more than 229 full-time employees, an increase of 78% from 2018.
“Our growth over the last year is a clear testament to the success of our focused strategy in a now-cluttered marketplace,” said Tubi CEO Farhad Massoudi in a statement. “We’re excited people globally have embraced Tubi as a complement to subscription video and aim to deliver an even larger library of premium content in 2020.”
Tubi is available on Android and iOS mobile devices, Amazon Echo Show, Google Nest Hub Max, Comcast Xfinity X1, Cox Contour, and on OTT devices such as Amazon Fire TV, Vizio TVs, Sony TVs, Samsung TVs, Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, Android TV, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4, and soon on Hisense TVs globally. Consumers can also watch Tubi content on the web at www.tubi.tv.
LAS VEGAS — The ad-supported video-on-demand streaming service Tubi touts itself as having the largest library in the space, at about 20,000 titles, four times that of Netflix, and Tubi executives see a bright future in the free alternative to subscription VOD.
“I think 2020 is going to be the year of AVOD,” said Tubi CEO Farhad Massoudi in an interview with Media Play News at CES. “I think there are going to be a lot of new players in the space, and I very much welcome it.”
Mark Rotblat
Tubi logged 20 million monthly active users as of June 2019, and 132 million hours a month as of September, noted chief revenue officer Mark Rotblat.
The service is on more than two dozen platforms, including Vizio, Samsung, Sony and Google; at CES, Tubi announced the addition of its service to Hisense’s Vidaa platform in spring 2020.
AVOD is gaining ground as cord cutting accelerates. In the third quarter of 2019, 2 million households cut the cord, up from a half million in the previous-year quarter, Massoudi noted.
Also, the consumer is being inundated with existing and new SVOD platforms, with longtime players Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu joined by recent entrants Disney+ and Apple TV+ and upcoming services, such as WarnerMedia’s HBO Max.
“Subscription fatigue is a real problem,” Massoudi said. “The idea of subscribing to all these services is just crazy.”
SVOD services will increasingly focus on original content, he noted.
“The role of SVOD will be providing original content to justify the expense on your bill,” he said.
Meanwhile, AVOD services such as Tubi are mining catalog, and deep catalog at that.
“By definition AVOD is not a content forward property,” Massoudi said. “We will never get a shiny title like ‘Friends’ [for which WarnerMedia paid nearly half a billion dollars for streaming rights].”
In contrast, Tubi is judicious about spending on content.
“If I have $1, I can put it on one title or I can aggregate five titles for that dollar and have more viewership,” Massoudi said.
While Tubi welcomes competitors, Massoudi said the service has a technological jump on new entrants.
“We’re well ahead of the market,” he said, adding studios or other companies looking to enter the AVOD space “would have to do a massive tech investment,” such as the investment Tubi has made in its recommendation engine.
“Content isn’t enough,” he said.
Tubi’s machine learning helps viewers personalize their content and wade through the thousands of available titles.
Massoudi and Rotblat would not reveal any revenue numbers for the independent company. They noted that over the past nine years, the company has raised a mere $35 million, meaning ad revenues are a key driver of the business.
“We are doing financially very well,” said the CEO, noting the staff has doubled to more than 220 in the past year.
While Viacom snapped up AVOD player Pluto TV, Massoudi said Tubi isn’t interested in being acquired.
“We’re focused on being independent,” he said. “We want to take this public.”
AVOD service Tubi has entered into a deal with Vidaa International, a subsidiary of TV manufacturer Hisense, to offer its library of more than 20,000 movies and TV shows on Hisense’s new Vidaa platform.
Beginning in spring 2020, Tubi customers in the United States, Canada and Australia, as well as the United Kingdom — where Tubi will launch later this year — will have access to the Tubi library of content on the new platform. The new Hisense TVs powered by Vidaa will have Tubi preloaded and prominently placed on its home screen.
“We’re excited to expand Tubi’s device footprint to include Hisense televisions with the new Vidaa platform, continuing our mission to make entertainment more accessible to everyone,” said Michael Ahiakpor, chief product officer at Tubi, in a statement. “Hisense has been a global leader in consumer electronics and is a perfect partner as we ramp up our international expansion in 2020.”
In September 2019, Tubi announced customers had streamed more than 132 million hours of content — a 40% increase since May — and the service will launch in the United Kingdom in 2020. In addition to Hisense televisions, Tubi is available on Android and iOS mobile devices, Amazon Echo Show, Comcast Xfinity X1, Cox Contour, and on OTT devices such as Amazon Fire TV, Sony TVs, Samsung TVs, Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, Android TV, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. Consumers can also watch Tubi content on the web at www.tubi.tv.
The newest range of Hisense’s ULED TVs with the Vidaa platform includes Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos. The next generation of Hisense ULED TVs features its proprietary smart TV Operating System (OS), Vidaa U4.
