Tubi’s Gen Z Grab in the U.K. Heats Up
SCOOP: Its Creators program heads to Britain as its GM explains strategy — and the HBO Max threat
I cover int’l TV from London. I wrote about Disney’s scramble to catch up with Netflix in global TV, the international fallout of Netflix’s deal to acquire Warner Bros. and how sports doc producers navigate a “brutal” landscape. I’m manori@theankler.com
When I last caught up with the Tubi U.K. team in July 2024, the Fox-backed free streamer was just three weeks into its launch — and gunning for the “broke Letterboxd generation.” The free streamer had gone live in its first European market with around 20,000 movies and episodes, and went underground — literally — in its fight for eyeballs. Anyone taking the subway at Oxford Circus station couldn’t escape a noisy advertising campaign that encouraged audiences to “watch what they actually want to watch.”
Twenty months later, it turns out Brits want to watch a lot of horror, thrillers and original YA romance. Research from Ampere Analysis revealed that AVOD (advertising-based video on demand) was leading the charge in global catalogue growth, outpacing SVOD (subscription video on demand) services, and that Tubi U.K. — which has more than tripled its library to 75,000-plus hours — was expanding its content slate faster than any other streamer in Europe.
Even more notable: 51 percent of its British audience is Gen Z or millennial.
Now, Tubi is preparing to double down.
I can reveal the company is rolling out its Creators program in the U.K., bringing its U.S. strategy — partnering with YouTubers and digital talent — across the pond.
“There’s a rich scene of creators here that could translate well to U.S. audiences,” Ross Appleton, Tubi’s U.K. general manager, tells me.
Unlike the typical global streamer playbook — splashy local originals, regulatory appeasement, then quiet retrenchment — Tubi is skipping the prestige arms race.
Instead, it’s cozying up to the creatorverse.
Today, I interview Appleton and dig into Tubi’s U.K. strategy, including:
How Amazon’s Freevee shutdown helped fuel Tubi’s youth surge
Tubi’s U.K. opportunity with niche audiences and its creator strategy
The unexpected upside in streaming engagement metrics with creators
Appleton’s eclectic appetite for creator programming
What creators actually get out of a Tubi deal (hint: CPMs)
The No. 1 product strategy for Tubi (and other streamers) to win Gen Z
And how Tubi plans to compete as HBO Max finally lands in Britain
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