SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — After a year in which it created a FIFA World Cup FAST channel and saw more viewer growth, Tubi plans to “lean in” further on sports programming.

The free, ad-supported TV (FAST) service, in its own latest annual report, says 2022 total viewing time (TVT) was up 44% annually.

In this video interview with Beet.TV, Tyler Fitch, SVP, Advanced TV & Partnerships, Tubi, explains the way the wind will blow in 2023.

By the numbers

According to Tubi’s The Stream report:

  • The service clocked more than 64 million monthly active users (MAUs).
  • African American and LGBT audiences grew over 50%.
  • More than 1 in 3 (36%) Tubi streamers are between the ages of 18 and 34.
  • 50,000 titles from 455 content partners, plus a growing FAST offering.

It also surveyed US TV streaming users:

  • Nearly 1 in 3 streamers plan to reduce spending on streaming services this year.
  • Standard video ads are currently preferred by streamers over other formats such as split screen, interactive, or QR code ads.
  • 35% of streamers access other people’s digital video streaming services and 45% of streamers want to stream without having an account.

Catching up

As it heads into another US upfront ad sales season, Fitch’s Tubi is working on closing a gap between consumer adoption and the ad revenue take he thinks will flow to the FAST category.

“In mobile, 10 years ago, we had this adoption very quickly happening and the dollars trailed until we caught up,” Fitch says.

“We’re in that same place with CTV right now. (We are) working with the agencies to prove our value, and then the budgets will follow and.

“We’re right in the middle of that with that push and pull of ‘what do you want?’, ‘what do you need?’ and ‘how can we make you feel comfortable spending those dollars?'”

To be Tubi

Tubi is a free, ad-supported video streaming service that offers a large selection of movies and TV shows. Available in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala and Panama, FOX Entertainment acquired Tubi service for $440 million in 2020.

In September 2022, the company announced a big 65% annual increase in monthly active users, up to 33 million in August, as well as growth and launches outside the US.

Tubi’s ad sales operation is a combination of programmatic and traditional ad sales techniques. The company offers a range of ad formats, including pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll ads, as well as display and interactive ads.

Platform breadth

Fitch is planning on following a 2022 growth year.

“We had the World Cup for the first time for free, which was really fun to see,” he says. “And we’re going to continue to lean in with sports, with Fox, and bringing that to the table is something very unique and very new that would never have happened before.”

Tubi’s investment will go beyond sports.

“We are making our own originals now,” Fitch adds. “We just announced a partnership with Warner, so the content continues to get better. Our library gets bigger and bigger.”

You’re watching coverage of Beet Retreat San Juan 2023, presented by LiveRamp, Madhive, Magnite, Paramount, T-Mobile Advertising Solutions and VideoAmp. For more videos from the Beet Retreat, please visit this page.

By Robert Andrews on @robertandrews