Anjali Sud joined Tubi because she saw an opportunity for disruption in the streaming industry, particularly with the shift towards free ad-supported streaming. She was excited about the potential for Tubi to define the future of entertainment with its free model.
Tubi is the most-watched free movie and TV streaming service in the US, with over 80 million monthly active viewers. It ranks as the third largest ad-supported streaming service after YouTube and Amazon in terms of viewing time.
Tubi competes by offering a vast library of content and focusing on viewer discovery and engagement. It operates on a fraction of the budget of larger streamers, leveraging its free model to attract audiences without the need for expensive subscriber acquisition campaigns.
Tubi has built its library over a decade through a network of content partners, including studio deals and independent distributors. It does not rely heavily on Fox's library and actively seeks out unique content, including homegrown talent and stories from underrepresented communities.
Tubi produces original content when it identifies fandoms or communities that want more of a specific type of storytelling. These originals are made at a fraction of the budget of traditional streamers' content and are driven by viewer data and demand.
Tubi listens to viewer signals and responds by providing more content that resonates with specific audiences, such as Black entertainment. This approach has led to over-indexing in growth with younger multicultural audiences.
Fox provides support to Tubi but allows it to operate with an entrepreneurial spirit. Tubi is exploring ways to leverage Fox's assets, such as Fox Sports, to create unique content and marketing opportunities without relying heavily on Fox's resources.
Tubi monetizes through advertising, offering advertisers incremental reach at scale with a good ROI. Over 65% of Tubi's audience consists of cord cutters and nevers, making it an attractive platform for brands looking to reach new audiences.
Tubi focuses on being ubiquitous across devices, ensuring it is accessible on any screen. It works strategically with distribution platforms to optimize content discovery and maintains a win-win relationship with partners like Amazon and Roku.
Tubi is committed to profitability and believes it can achieve this through efficient growth and smart investments, rather than cost-cutting. It aims to unlock advertiser awareness to match its growing audience.
What if you could watch shows and movies on a screen, for free, in exchange for watching some ads?
In olden times, we called that “TV”. Now the industry term is “advertising-based video on demand,” and it seems to be growing quite quickly. This is good news for Tubi, the AVOD/streamer Fox bought back in the spring of 2020, and for Anjali Sud, who has been running Tubi for the last year. At the moment, Tubi’s programming is helping it beat services with much bigger profiles, and budgets, including Comcast’s Peacock and WBD’s Max.
Sud, who used to run IAC’s Vimeo video service, talked to me live at the NAB NY show. Discussed here: Tubi’s approaching to licensing and programming, why it makes sense for the streamer to make a smattering of its own shows, and what being part of Fox does and doesn’t do for her.
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