Tubi Branches Into Originals to Build on Record Growth Under New Owner Fox

Last year, Tubi headed into NewFronts fresh off an acquisition from Fox Corp. Now, after a year of record-breaking growth and after getting settled further into its new parent company, Tubi is emphasizing that it’s more dedicated to advertisers than ever. “Our commitment is to advertisers and in keeping Tubi, like Fox, 100% ad-supported,” Charlie Collier, Fox Entertainment’s CEO, told marketers in the streamer’s NewFronts presentation Monday. “Turns out, when our competition adds a plus to their names, often it’s a minus for advertisers as these companies divert their focus from advertising to subscriptions. With Fox and Tubi, the plus is for you.” Part of that commitment to advertisers was emphasized as Tubi pushes into originals that will come to the service beginning this fall. More than 140 hours of all-new programming will arrive on Tubi later this year, covering the genre gamut: thrillers, horror, sci-fi, romance, westerns and Black cinema. All of those shows will be available for advertisers to sponsor and run their advertisements against, giving Tubi and Fox’s advertisers the chance to sponsor and run against premium programming that advertisers increasingly seek out. Tubi has already benefited from big Fox titles like The Masked Singer and Lego Masters, and Tubi Originals will also get a boost from its broadcast sibling. Fox Alternative Entertainment will develop original documentaries for Tubi, and Fox Entertainment’s animation studio Bento Box Entertainment will create animated titles. “Our future is together and as you can see, what we are building is a new kind of company: a 100% ad supported broadcast network combined with a 100% ad supported streaming service,” Collier said. “It’s a company that doesn’t hide any of its content behind a paywall.” A younger, hard-to-reach audience The new originals lineup, more details of which will be rolled out in coming months, is intended to continue to attract audiences—and advertising dollars—to Tubi as it gives the broader Fox Corp. access to younger and more diverse viewers than Fox’s linear channels. Tubi’s median age is 37, two decades younger than its linear TV audiences, and 39% of Tubi 40 million monthly active users identify as multicultural, according to Mark Rotblat, Tubi’s chief revenue officer. Many viewers of the free service are also not available elsewhere: 68% of Tubi audiences are not watching other ad-supported streaming services, Rotblat said. The announcements come as Tubi, like other streamers, is recording record-breaking growth as consumers increasingly embrace streaming amid the pandemic. In March, the streamer recorded 276 million hours watched, a platform best. In the first quarter of 2021, viewers spent 798 million hours watching programming on the free streaming service, up 54% year over year. Tubi, like many other ad-supported streamers on the market, built up its library at the outset with as much low-cost library content as it could get its hands on. As it pushes into originals, the company is using the data it learned from what worked in its library to strategically invest, especially in areas like Black cinema and Spanish-language programming. “Increasingly, TV viewership is about micro-targeting,” Adam Lewinson, Tubi’s chief content officer, said. “Tubi is a platform that is built for exactly that. Whatever types of content our audiences want to put in their queues, playlists, if you will, Tubi is here to serve their passions.” The service is also working on building content offerings around tentpole calendar events, including a planned Shark Month this summer. “All audiences are looking for seasonal entertainment, and we are doubling down on the volume we offer and what we create on our own,” Lewinson said. “With audiences shifting away from cable TV and turning to TV for those pop culture moments, Tubi is building destinations that tap into the cultural conversation.” Tubi’s not the only ad-supported streamer pushing into originals or increasing its investment. Crackle Plus, which presented earlier in the day, is also doubling down on original programming; Amazon-owned IMDb TV, which presents later on Monday, is also pushing into the space in the coming year.