{"id":340494,"date":"2017-05-10T03:02:36","date_gmt":"2017-05-09T19:02:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/techcrunch.com\/?p=1487453"},"modified":"2017-05-10T03:02:36","modified_gmt":"2017-05-09T19:02:36","slug":"free-streaming-service-tubi-tv-grabs-20-million-in-new-funding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/free-streaming-service-tubi-tv-grabs-20-million-in-new-funding\/","title":{"rendered":"Free streaming service Tubi TV grabs $20 million in new funding"},"content":{"rendered":"

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San Francisco-based Tubi TV<\/a> has raised an additional $20 million for its advertising-supported streaming service for TV and movies. Investors in the round are betting on the fact that the next big streaming competitor\u00a0won\u2019t be a direct rival\u00a0to Netflix and others with a\u00a0subscription-based business model, but rather a free service that offers a wide variety of titles for free viewing.<\/p>\n

The Series B round was led by\u00a0Jump Capital<\/a>, and includes participation from Tubi TV\u2019s Series A investor Foundation Capital<\/a>, as well as Danhua Capital and Cota Capital.\u00a0With this current round, the company\u2019s\u00a0total raise\u00a0to date is $34 million.<\/p>\n

Launched in 2014, Tubi TV today has 200 content partners, including Lionsgate, MGM, Paramount Pictures, Starz and others, bringing its catalog of shows and movies to over 50,000 titles. However, not all titles are available at any given time \u2014 the selection is rotated and updated to make the content feel fresh.<\/p>\n

The company also claims millions of users, and 9x growth in monthly active users in 2016, compared with the year before.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The titles on Tubi TV aren\u2019t necessarily the hottest, or most in-demand new releases, but include a number of big-name hits from years past. For example, the app\u2019s featured selection right now includes\u00a0the 2000 film \u201cGladiator,\u201d 1991\u2019s \u201cThe Silence of the Lambs,\u201d 2011\u2019s \u201cYoung Adult,\u201d 2010\u2019s \u201cTrue Grit\u201d and 2008\u2019s \u201cRevolutionary Road,\u201d among others.<\/p>\n

But for Tubi TV\u2019s targeted audience \u2014 millennial viewers \u2014 these movies may not be new, but they\u2019re new to them. Younger millennials, for example, were born in the mid-1990s or early 2000s \u2014 they may not even have been around when these films were released, or were far too young to watch them. But some of these\u00a0classic movies\u00a0hold up over time, and\u00a0can find a new audience on Tubi TV.<\/p>\n

Beyond the more well-known films, Tubi TV also partners with smaller, niche studios around the world, like anime and animation-focused Viz Media. Because of its\u00a0numerous partnerships, the service\u2019s library stretches across\u00a0a variety of genres, like anime, international films and TV (e.g. Korean, Chinese and British TV), horror, sci-fi, fantasy, action, thrillers, drama, romance, reality TV, stand-up comedy, documentaries, docu-series, classics, cartoons, kids\u2019 shows, martial arts, indie and more.<\/p>\n

In addition, while millennials are often said to have an aversion to ads, a Nielsen study<\/a> found that the large majority of them \u2014 75 percent of those 18 to 34 \u2014 are fine with ads as long as the content is free. (For a generation raised on YouTube, this is not really a surprising metric.)<\/p>\n

Tubi TV delivers on that promise of free content, and claims\u00a0its advertising is user-friendly, as well.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cWe care very much about the user experience and strive to replicate the TV viewing experience that viewers are familiar with, but with significantly fewer interruptions,\u201d says Tubi TV\u00a0founder and CEO Farhad Massoudi. \u201cTypically, we\u2019ll show about 4-5 minutes of commercials for every 30 minutes of content,\u201d he notes.<\/p>\n

Some of the advertisers have included\u00a0Fox, Paramount, Unilever, Nationwide, Pizza Hut, Chrysler\/Fiat Group, BMW, Army, Marines, Amazon and Intercontinental Hotels. Ads are priced depending on the campaign objectives, but the company wouldn\u2019t provide details on rates.<\/p>\n

Massoudi also says his company\u00a0is close to profitability, but didn\u2019t offer revenue specifics \u2014 saying instead that the round will help\u00a0Tubi TV focus on growth instead of short-term profitability.<\/p>\n

Tubi TV will use the new\u00a0funds for scaling the business and hiring \u2014 including\u00a0engineers, product managers and data scientists. It will also fund marketing initiatives and its in-house TV analytics platform, which helps to better understand what people want to watch and when.<\/p>\n

Tubi TV has developed a custom analytics platform for TV that allows it\u00a0to A\/B test and run deep data mining on \u201cevery piece of content, product initiative and ad experience,\u201d explains Massoudi. This technology allows the company\u00a0to continually optimize the user experience, including content curation and ad targeting.<\/p>\n

Tubi TV today is available on almost all platforms, including web, mobile apps, game consoles and streaming players.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"\" San Francisco-based Tubi TV has raised an additional $20 million for its advertising-supported streaming service for TV and movies. Investors in the round are betting on the fact that the next big streaming competitor won’t be a direct rival to Netflix and others with a subscription-based business model, but rather a free service that offers a wide variety of titles for free viewing. Read More<\/a><\/p>\n

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