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 February 2023, a promo for Tubi during Super Bowl LVII (aired on the Fox network, co-owned with the service) that confused many viewers into believing that they had accidentally changed the channel on their televisions.[22] On March 23, 2023, Tubi announced a partnership with ComScore, VideoAmp and LiveRamp.[23][24] In April 2023, Tubi announced a partnership with Vice to bring eight documentaries to Tubi for free.[25]
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Available
Planned
In November 2015, Tubi and Blue Ant Media reached a deal to make Tubi available to stream in Canada.[29]
Tubi became inaccessible throughout the European Union as a result of the GDPR entering into force on May 25, 2018.[30][31] It was later announced that Tubi would relaunch in the United Kingdom by early 2019.[32][33] 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".[34] and is "working on compliance [with GDPR] and is planning to relaunch in European countries soon".[35]
Tubi officially launched in Australia on September 1, 2019.[36]
In January 2020, Tubi announced an expansion to Mexico, in a partnership with TV Azteca.[37]
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.[38]
In August 2022, Tubi launched in Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala and Panama.[39][40]
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 Fox-owned stations and affiliates,[45] and Fox Weather. The service began producing its own original content in 2021, including television films and series.[46]
Tubi uses a real-time bidding platform for advertisers that deliver video ads across various platforms.[47]
64 million monthly active users (as of January 1, 2023[update])
