Tubi, Inc.

Home page screenshot
Type of business	Division
Founded	April 1, 2014; 9 years ago (2014-04-01), in San Francisco, California
Headquarters	Los Angeles, California , United States
Area served	Australia Canada Costa Rica Ecuador El Salvador Guatemala India Mexico Panama United States
Owner	Independent (2014–2020) Fox Corporation (2020–present)
Founder(s)	Farhad Massoudi Thomas Ahn Hicks
Key people	Anjali Sud (CEO)
Industry	Entertainment
Parent	Tubi Media Group
URL	tubitv.com
Registration	Optional
Users	64 million monthly active users (as of January 1, 2023[update])
Current status	Active

Tubi is an American over-the-top content platform and ad-supported streaming service owned by Fox Corporation since 2020.^[1][2] The service was launched on April 1, 2014, and is based in Los Angeles, California.^[3][4] In January 2021, Tubi reached 33 million monthly active users.^[5] As of January 2023, Tubi has 64 million monthly active users.^[6]

History

Tubi was founded by Farhad Massoudi and Thomas Ahn Hicks^[7][8] of AdRise in San Francisco, launching in 2014 as a free service.^[9][10][11] In May 2017, they raised US$20 million in a round of funding from Jump Capital, Danhua Capital, Cota Capital, and Foundation Capital.^[12] In June 2019, Tubi announced that it had over 20 million active monthly users,^[13] and later in September, the company reported that users had streamed 132 million hours of content.^[14] In September 2020, the company reported 33 million monthly users.^[15]

In 2019, CEO Farhad Massoudi announced that Tubi would nearly double its 2018 spending on licensed content, close to US$100 million.^[16] In February 2019, Tubi signed a distribution deal with NBCUniversal, which includes 400 TV episodes and films.^[17]

Tubi became available on Vizio SmartCast on September 25, 2019.^[18] On October 21, Tubi launched Tubi Kids, a dedicated hub for the streamer's children-centric content via Roku and supported devices.

On March 17, 2020, Fox Corporation announced that it would acquire Tubi for $440 million, with the sale being completed on April 20; Farhad Massoudi would remain at the company, which would continue as a separate subsidiary.^[19][2]

In December 2021, Fox acquired MarVista Entertainment, in a move to bolster Tubi's library and leverage its production capabilities for made-for-TV movies.^[20]

In December 2022, Tubi signed a content deal with South Korean entertainment company CJ ENM.^[21]

In July 2023, Anjali Sud was announced as the new CEO of Tubi following the departure of Farhad Massoudi.^[22]

Investors and board members

Sandy Grushow, former Fox TV chair, is an advisory board member.^[23]

Mark Amin, former vice chair of Lionsgate, was an investor before the Fox acquisition.

Adrise, the company behind Tubi, has raised $4 million in capital. Principal investors include Foundation Capital, Bobby Yazdani, Zod Nazem, SGH Capital, and Streamlined Ventures.^[24][25]

Global availability

In November 2015, Tubi and Blue Ant Media reached a deal to make Tubi available to stream in Canada.^[26]

Tubi became inaccessible throughout the European Union as a result of the GDPR entering into force on May 25, 2018.^[27][28] It was later announced that Tubi would relaunch in the United Kingdom by early 2019.^[29][30] As of July 15, 2021, Tubi has yet to relaunch in the United Kingdom. According to their website, they "hope to relaunch in the UK and EU in the future".^[31] and is "working on compliance [with GDPR] and is planning to relaunch in European countries soon".^[32]

Tubi officially launched in Australia on September 1, 2019.^[33]

In January 2020, Tubi announced an expansion to Mexico, in a partnership with TV Azteca.^[34]

In July 2022, Tubi announced a partnership with Shaw Communications to make the service available to all of Shaw's customers, and further expanding Tubi's reach in Canada.^[35]

In August 2022, Tubi launched in Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala and Panama.^[36][37]

Programming

As of January 2023, Tubi's programming includes over 40,000 films and television series from over 250 providers (American and foreign). These have included:

Since its acquisition by Fox Corporation, Tubi also carries programming from Fox Entertainment, Fox Soul, local news from stations owned by Fox as well as affiliates of other major networks,^[42] and Fox Weather. The service began producing its own original content in 2021, including television films and series.^[43] And even before the acquisition, through the Español and Tubi Kids hubs respectively, the service also inherited former MundoFox game show Minuto para Ganar as well as a few shows that previously aired on Fox's former 4Kids TV block (such as Chaotic (only available in Spanish), Dinosaur King, Sonic X, and various entries in the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise).^[44][45]

Tubi uses a real-time bidding platform for advertisers that deliver video ads across various platforms.^[46]

Original programming

Upcoming original programming

Original documentaries

Original films

Upcoming original films

Sports

Tubi currently has the rights, through Fox Sports, to show live matches from the UEFA Nations League,^[55] CONCACAF Under-17 Championship,^[56] and the World Baseball Classic.^[57]

During the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Tubi offered all matches on-demand 30 minutes after they ended.^[58]

Tubi offers several free ad-supported streaming Sports TV channels through their Live TV service. As of March 2023, these channels include offerings from the FIFA World Cup, Fox Sports, National Football League, Major League Baseball, Women's Sports Network, Racing America, beIN ñ Sports Xtra, beIN Sports Xtra, Fubo Sports Network, Stadium, Pac-12 Insider, Sports Wire, Fox Sports en Español, ACCDN, and NHRA.^[59]