Tubi looks to strike gold again with a UK launch

The news: Tubi made its debut in the UK last week, giving the Fox-owned, free service access to a lucrative market during a boom time for streaming viewership and advertising.

The UK market: Finding success in the UK will be a challenging prospect. Tubi was launched in 2014 in the US, which allowed it to find its stride during the decade-long rise of streaming. But in the UK, leaders like Amazon, Netflix, and Amazon-owned Freevee make up a significant chunk of viewership across both free, ad-supported TV platforms (FAST) and subscription over-the-top (OTT) video.

• Tubi managed to excel in the US despite the crowded streaming market through offering free, ad-supported access to content that differentiates it from major competitors. In April, the streaming service totaled nearly 80 million viewers, per Nielsen, inching closer to premium paid offerings like Disney+.
• The streaming service plans to take a similar approach in the UK: Tubi CEO Andali Sud told The Guardian that the streaming service will offer ethnically diverse content that appeals to a broad range of young, engaged viewers.
• While breaking into a hardened streaming market poses challenges, Tubi’s timing could give it a significant advantage. Late last year, we increased our UK OTT video viewer forecast by nearly 1 million viewers to account for new market entrants. Subscription growth in the UK has also been slow, and saturation could lead consumers to turn toward free alternatives.
• That shift is already occurring: We forecast that BBC iPlayer, a free streaming service offered by a public service broadcaster, will have viewership that rivals Amazon’s by 2027. Similarly, subscription OTT’s share of viewers is declining slightly.

Our take: Tubi faces a starkly different landscape in the UK than in the US, with hefty competition in both the subscription and FAST markets. But its unique content approach and shifting consumer streaming preferences could help it carve out a stake that attracts both viewers and advertisers looking to reach young, active audiences.