On the heels of its investment in Whalar’s Lighthouse brand, the Fox Corporation is forging another connection to the creator economy. Tubi, the Fox-owned platform known for free, ad-supported TV (FAST), is launching a new content hub called Tubi for Creators.
The Tubi for Creators program will unite the titular platform’s efforts to get big names from YouTube and TikTok into its content library. The initial Tubi for Creators lineup is powered by deals with six YouTube notables, who are collectively bringing 500 episodes of serialized content to FAST viewers.
The shows arriving on Tubi include Kinigra Deon‘s Vampire Siblings (pictured above), Dan and Riya‘s Beverly Valley High, FunnyMike‘s Mr. Creepy Eyes, and content from creator-led media companies like Jubilee, Watcher, and Rhett & Link‘s Mythical.
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Previously, Tubi announced several creator-facing initiatives that targeted up-and-coming artists, including a partnership with Kickstarter and the Issa Rae-led incubator Stubio. The new Tubi for Creators represents a pivot, as it involves high-profile partnerships with YouTube stars who reach millions of subscribers. According to Tubi press release, “thousands of videos” will hit the platform “in the coming weeks.”
That approach will allow Tubi to get a piece of the work creators are already doing. Emboldened by platforms like YouTube and creator economy companies like Jellysmack, prominent influencers are launching channels that are compatible with FAST hubs. Mythical and Watcher are two such entities.
Some of the streaming services launched by creators have been powered by Vimeo Streaming, a tool that facilitates the development and monetization of premium content hubs. Vimeo, and its streaming service toolkit in particular, has strong ties to Tubi’s current venture. Former Vimeo CEO Anjali Sud left the company in 2023 to take the same position at Tubi.
Sud has now brought a fellow Vimeo vet to Tubi with her. Rich Bloom, the former GM of Vimeo Streaming predecessor Vimeo OTT, is overseeing Tubi for Creators as the company’s GM of Creator Programs and EVP of Business Development.
“I’m thrilled to join Tubi as they are committed to offering creators unique opportunities, creative freedom and importantly, an audience,” Bloom said in a statement. “Many creators today function like full-fledged production studios creating longer-form, episodic content that is a perfect fit for broader distribution and Tubi is the right partner to level-up their content and grow their audience.”
In the streaming landscape, subscriptions with ads are becoming more common — as of last December, FAST-style memberships account for about half of all streaming subscriptions. Tubi is well-positioned to play a key role in that explosion of ad-supported content, and its experienced execs are making sure that creators come along for the ride.
