International: Fox Corporation has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the AVOD platform Tubi for approximately $440 million.
Tubi, which is currently available on more than 25 digital platforms in the U.S., features over 20,000 titles and 56,000 hours of film and episodic television programming from over 250 content partners, including many of the major studios. FOX plans to continue to run Tubi as an independent service. FarhadMassoudi will continue to head Tubi.
FOX will finance the Tubi acquisition principally with the proceeds from the completed sale of its stake in Roku.
Lachlan Murdoch, executive chairman and CEO of Fox Corporation, commented: “Tubi will immediately expand our direct-to-consumer audience and capabilities and will provide our advertising partners with more opportunities to reach audiences at scale. Importantly, coupled with the combined power of FOX’s existing networks, Tubi provides a substantial base from which we will drive long-term growth in the direct-to-consumer arena.”
Massoudi, Tubi’s founder and CEO, added: “Fox Corporation’s relationships with advertisers and distribution partners, combined with the company’s dominance in news and sports programming, will help Tubi continue to grow and differentiate itself in the high-growth ad-supported streaming marketplace. I am proud of what the team has already accomplished here at Tubi and we couldn’t be more excited about joining such a fast-moving, entrepreneurial company. We look forward to working together with FOX to accelerate Tubi’s leadership position in the market and bring new competencies to FOX.”
On the sale of FOX’s ownership stake in Roku, Murdoch said: “We were an early investor in Roku and continue to admire the ongoing accomplishments of Anthony Wood and his team. We are pleased to expand our partnership with them as a result of the Tubi acquisition.”
