According to Deadline, the Fox-owned streaming service Tubi is launching in the United Kingdom. Along with its rollout in Latin America and Canada, this represents an effort by the streamer to grow its international footprint.
Anjali Sud, Tubi CEO, explained to Deadline that Tubi’s library is “10 times the size of a British broadcaster” and will be “available on every major platform.”
“It’s taken us a long time to perfect and hone our approach to having a huge library, removing barriers and frictions, and listening to our audience,” she said. “We feel in a place where we are ready to go to UK market.”
According to Sud, the service has created categories for niches like Nollywood, Hollywood and arthouse cinema. “It’s not like the world needs another streamer, so you have to ask yourselves what problem you are trying to solve,” said Sud. “When you gravitate to the median viewer, there is a tendency to chase ratings and ad dollars, and a risk of creating a mono culture.”
Likewise, Tubi’s EVP and MD of International, David Salmon, hopes to capture underserved demos in the United Kingdom. Salmon said the country has “become extremely clustered around a small set of core demos.” He continued, “We believe we can create an environment for deeper, more diverse, unexpected content discovery for UK audiences.”
While Tubi is producing a number of exclusive projects, it doesn’t expect to commission any from the UK. Instead, UK viewers will be able to enjoy US-produced projects such as House Of Heat and Slay.
Despite this movement, Sud clarified that this was not a worldwide push, “This isn’t a land grab and we are not looking to suddenly expand into 10 more countries,” she said. “What we believe we can do is build a winning value proposition that will resonate. We are laser focused on the UK.”