Tubi live in UK

Tubi, Fox Corporation’s ad-supported streaming service, is now live in the UK.

Tubi has built momentum in North America by engaging viewers with a free, personalised streaming service that offers an extensive library of blockbuster movies, popular TV series, and exclusive Tubi Originals. With nearly 80 million monthly active users, Tubi has emerged as the fastest growing US streaming service since its debut on the Nielsen Gauge just over a year ago.

“Tubi has spent the last decade honing our approach to vast, free and fun streaming in North America, and we feel that now is the perfect time to bring that recipe to UK audiences,” said Anjali Sud, CEO of Tubi. “We are launching with one of the largest and most diverse content libraries in the UK, designed to indulge viewers in everything from blockbusters to original stories to hidden gems. Most importantly, we’re committed to listening to what resonates with UK fans, and bringing them more and more of what they love.”

Tubi will launch with over 20,000 movies and TV episodes on-demand, featuring curated content from major global distributors such as Disney, Lionsgate, NBCUniversal and Sony Pictures Entertainment as well as a slate of exclusive Tubi Originals. Tubi’s content library in the UK pairs some of the biggest Hollywood films with modern British classics, and offers series with well-known UK TV franchises alongside new areas of discovery – from Bollywood and Nollywood to Arthouse Cinema.

“At a time when traditional programming feels homogenous and when finding what to watch feels like a chore, Tubi has been effective at delivering delight beyond the monoculture with content that appeals to diverse and vibrant fandoms,” said David Salmon, EVP and Managing Director of International at Tubi. “We believe that we can build a brilliantly broad, culturally ambitious offering that puts UK audiences back at the centre, and makes it fun and easy to enjoy great entertainment from around the world.”

Tubi uses machine learning to deliver personalised experiences. Tubi is also committed to a 100 per cent free ad-supported model that offers viewers frictionless onboarding and a low ad load. In the coming weeks, Tubi will be available for UK viewers to access as a free application on every major connected TV platform, iOS and Android smartphones, and on the web.

Tubi has established itself as a bold challenger brand in the US where it most recently tied Disney+ in total viewing time according to Nielsen’s The Gauge Report and continued to be the #1 AVoD player. Tubi will launch a creative marketing campaign in the UK on July 15th. The campaign, ‘Watch what you actually want to watch’, aims to combat entertainment snobbery and traditionalism – with Tubi saying it believes in taking the guilt out of guilty pleasure viewing.

Reacting to the news, James Reeve, Executive Director of Design,UIC Digital, said: “Tubi launching in the UK is a big step into the highly saturated video streaming market. Its free, ad-supported offering means it has a competitive advantage over many existing players, particularly with such a strong content offering. However, in order to drive long-term profitability, it’s essential that Tubi pays close attention to its user experience.  Today’s users expect more than just good UX; they seek an experience that extends beyond video consumption. Integrating functionalities for marketing and sales opportunities is crucial. With the rise of Connected TV and more shoppable ads, Tubi must innovate in delivering seamless and non-disruptive advertising experiences.

“There are huge opportunities to develop this further – from harnessing the opportunities with AI to developing a search functionality that is intuitive and delivers appropriate results, through to experimenting with gamification techniques that keep audiences engaged, this could be embedded into advertising offerings, so that these are less intrusive and actually ad to users’ viewing experience,” added Reeve.