New Fox in for Tubi claims WSJ

The ‘new Fox’ – led by CEO Lachlan Murdoch and born out of the US$71 billion sale of 21st Century Fox to Disney – is said to be mulling a purchase of AVOD Tubi. 

The Wall Street Journal said that a deal for the streamer which started life as ad-tech startup AdRise in 2010 is being discussed for in excess of US$500 million.

Since launching Tubi TV in 2014, the company has seen significant interest and investment from parties such as Lionsgate and MGM.

The company said that 2019 was a record year and that December saw its monthly active users increase to 25 million, with total view time reaching 163 million hours – a year-over-year increase of 160%. Going forward the company said it will spend more than “nine figures” on expanding its content library

The streamer will also rapidly expand in 2020. In October the company announced it would be launching in the UK in early 2020, and that it will expand into Mexico later in 2020.

Considering that Viacom’s US$340 million purchase of Pluto TV was by many considered a gamble, a cost of US$500 million for a similar product would indicate just how viable the AVOD model is being considered by the industry.

During the company’s quarterly earnings, ViacomCBS CFO Christina Spade said that Pluto is an “integral part” of its advanced advertising efforts, with a large part of its 9% jump in domestic ad revenue being attributed to the platform.