Tubi—the free ad-supported streaming service—announced that it has launched in the UK, building on its incredible success in the US.
With nearly 80 million monthly active users, Tubi has quickly become one of the biggest streaming platforms, a point the company makes in a funny series of ads in which it declares itself more popular than divorce, babies, water fountains, or Old Faithful.
“The idea for more popular than popular things came from the brief our strategists wrote,” explained Carl Peterson, creative director at Mischief who worked on the idea with partner Eleanor Rask. “They had a line in there about how if Tubi viewers were a country, it would be bigger than France. We thought that was pretty compelling so we just ran with it. Like, babies are common, but when you learn that Tubi is actually way more popular than babies – that felt sticky to us.”
The company is building on that popularity by launching in the UK. The platform will launch with more than 20,000 movies and TV episodes. The company says it is committed to delivery content suited to the UK market.
“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.”
“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 has won praise for its streaming platform, solid content, and free price. Expanding in the UK should help the platform gain even more users, enabling it to leverage its scale to continue delivering great content.