Tubi has been compared to major streamers like Netflix and HBO Max.
Over the past decade, streaming services have gone from being a luxury available to a few moviegoers to being the dominant future of the entertainment industry. Streaming has not only replaced cable TV, it’s also replacing movie theaters. A crackdown on mid-budget adult entertainment films that aren’t blockbusters because they’ve been more successful on streaming services than in theaters. However, due to the popularity of streaming, the monthly bill is starting to compete with the cost of a cable subscription or multiple movies in a theater. From Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO Max, Disney+, Apple TV+, Paramount+, Peacock, Hulu, Shudder, and Criterion Channel, viewers have to choose what new content they can watch based on the service they subscribe to. That’s why many consumers are turning their eyes to Tubi, which is called ‘free Netflix’.
Tubi is a free streaming service funded entirely by advertising. There is a subscription option, but no subscription is required to view the content, so it’s essentially a free library of movies, TV shows, concerts, stand-up comedy, documentaries, and short films. It’s not the only free, ad-supported streaming service. Services like Crackle, Freevee (formerly IMDb TV), The Roku Channel, Plex, Xumo, and Pluto TV are also drawing viewers to new formats. YouTube Movies and TV Shows. However, Tubi’s dominance can be found in its ownership, content and libraries.
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Tubi currently has more than 40,000 movies and TV shows and has about 51 million monthly users. First launched in 2014, the service has become a home for licensed content from other distributors and has increased its spending budget to $100 million in 2019. Tubi was acquired by Fox Corporation in 2020, and Fox Corporation continues to promote the platform as monthly viewership rises. Beyond the US, we offer subscription services in Latin America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. With many viewers weighing their options, they envy the simple annoyance of ad breaks more than paying for an expensive subscription.
Advantages of Tobe
Westworld Season 1 Episode 1 Original Dolores and Teddy James Marsden Rachel Evan Wood Horse Image via HBO
Tubi’s obvious appeal is that it’s “free” and the ad breaks are relatively intrusive compared to other free services. It’s still awkward to watch movies that don’t come with natural breaks inserted randomly, but many viewers are used to watching movies on cable. Another attraction is that you have the option to log in with your social media profile, but no subscription is required. Tubi is relatively usable on most platforms, as it has a web browser version and an app that can be added to smart TV devices such as Roku, Apple TV or Amazon Fire.
What makes Tubi dominant compared to many other free, ad-supported streaming services is the depth of its library. While licensed titles are rapidly being phased out and replaced, viewers can usually find a variety of classics, foreign language titles, new hits, cult classics, award-winning titles, and direct-to-demand genres produced on a budget and cheaply. It often appears on free services. There are quite a few cheap “junk movies” you can find, but Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, Edward Scissorhands, RoboCop, The Babadook, Darth Boot, Twelve Angry Men, All the President Minions, and Requiem for a Dream. It is this desirable content that Tubi threatens the existence of major leading services like Netflix or HBO Max. If viewers are not interested in the service’s original content, they can unsubscribe and watch library programming for free.
Although library content draws fewer viewers than original content, it is becoming more and more popular as other streaming services continue to remove original and library shows. “Exclusive” has lost its meaning in the streaming era. HBO Max removed some titles made directly for the service and older Looney Toons cartoons that were not available elsewhere due to racist content. Disney+’s library probably won’t include all Disney titles, as some questionable content may not be available, such as Songs of the South or Michael Jackson episodes from The Simpsons. This competition forces services to maintain the integrity of their content libraries, which will ultimately be good for viewers.