Tubi started its conquering journey in the United States in 2014, and was then acquired by Fox in 2020 for an advance payment of 440 million dollars (160 billion forints). The service is currently available in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Panama. Euronews.
The free-to-view but ad-supported streaming platform is the Murdoch conglomerate’s newest player on the UK market. Murdoch’s company also owns The Times and The Sun, but sold its 39 percent stake in Sky News to Comcast in 2018. What’s more, he is behind TalkTV, a less commercially significant right-wing news channel. Outside of the UK, it also has a majority stake in Sky Italia.
More than 20 thousand items
Viewers can choose from more than 20,000 movies and TV series in the platform’s library. But does the service provider have a right to exist in the UK?
While Tubi’s free, ad-supported model is hugely popular in the US with around 80 million monthly users, the market in the UK is much more saturated, with people living there still having access to Channel 4 and ITVX.
In addition, Britons pay an annual license fee for the BBC, and the national broadcaster’s streaming platform, BBC iPlayer, is free of advertising. In addition, popular (global) paid services such as Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video are also present in the UK, which can also be competitors of Tubi. The platform’s success (unlike other markets) is also not guaranteed in the UK because it doesn’t produce nearly as much original content as its competitors.
While streaming platforms boomed during the pandemic, they have since seen a drop in user numbers, leading several providers, including Netflix and Amazon, to introduce advertising and higher subscription fees.
Anjali Sud, CEO of Tubi, said that they listen to what British viewers really want.
We’re launching with one of Britain’s largest and most diverse libraries, aiming to treat viewers to everything from blockbusters to original stories to hidden gems. We’re committed to listening to what’s popular with UK fans and bringing them as much of what they love as possible.
Although Tubi withdrew from the EU market in 2018, it is possible that its entry into the UK is already a precursor to its return to continental Europe. THE 2018 EU Portability Regulation according to which all content that can be streamed in one country must be available in all EU countries.
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