The queue of streaming services lining up to drain your bank account on a monthly basis seems to get longer and longer by the day.
With huge movies and TV shows split between the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus and Apple TV Plus, our wallets aren’t fat enough to keep up with our binge-watching desires.
Instead we’re forced to pick a couple and accept missing out on some prime time content. But what if you could add one more to your list at no extra cost?
Let us introduce you to Tubi. It’s Fox’s free streaming platform that interrupts your viewing with adverts as a compromise for not requiring your bank details. A bit like that old-fashioned terrestrial TV.
Tubi originally launched in 2014 before it was acquired by Fox in 2020, and the streamer appears to be picking up real momentum thanks to an increasingly impressive library of content.
Tubi announced in a statement on Monday that it now boasts more than 97million monthly users and kept its audience watching for more than 10billion hours in 2024.
Tubi has amassed millions of users to rival other platforms (Picture: Pavlo Gonchar/Sopa Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
An array of classic movies are available to watch too, such as Cruel Intentions (Picture: Melissa Moseley/Columbia/Kobal/Rex/Shutterstock)
The service now claims to offer ‘the world’s largest collection of movies and TV episodes, including over 300 original exclusive originals’. And the best bit is you simply click play, you don’t even need to create an account.
So what’s all the fuss about? Do the free services really have content worth watching? Well yes, actually. You’ll find some pretty big names among some other, less well-known titles.
Movies available right now include highly rated hits such as Donny Darko, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?, Cruel Intentions and Monster. If it’s TV shows you’re after, they range from Gunpowder to Gracepoint to Peep Show.
Tubi is also keen to gloat about the success of its original content, stating that one in four viewers are watching it, alongside its collection of classic content.
Sidelined: The QB And Me stars actors including Deborah Cox and James Van Der Beek (Picture: Michael Tullberg/Getty Images)
Sidelined: The QB and Me, a drama following the love story between a high school quarterback and a headstrong dancer, was released in November and attracted the most viewers in Tubi history in its first week.
New releases coming this year include Western thriller The Thicket (starring Peter Dinklage and Juliette Lewis), workplace comedy Z-Suite, and the return of comedy-drama Boarders.
With Tubi you might not be paying out of your pocket as you will with services like Netflix, but you will be paying with your time as you sit through the adverts that allow the content to be free in the first place.
And it’s a divisive model among the viewing audience who are torn over whether it’s better just to cough up the money needed on other platforms to avoid them.
Slammin_Sammiee wrote on X: ‘Watching a movie on Tubi is almost impossible. There are WAY TOO MANY ADS’ and plenty agreed, replying: ‘Yeah. That’s why I gave up.’
But others were more than happy with the breaks in content, with Inthegraveyardd arguing: ‘I like Tubi cus it has ads. Gives me time to reply to text messages’ and Srirachachau added: ‘Tubi is low key one of the best streaming services. You get ads but otherwise it’s totally free and the selection rules.’
Anjali Sud, Tubi CEO, said: ‘Tubi’s momentum is growing as audiences increasingly value a premium entertainment experience that is also 100% free, fun and reflective of culture.
‘Our strategy is simple yet powerful: put viewers first by offering unique stories from unique storytellers, a vast selection of content to choose from and a delightful experience across devices.
Reference:- https://metro.co.uk/2025/01/09/completely-free-streaming-service-hits-97-000-000-users-rival-netflix-22328737/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=user/MetroUK
