Hot on the heels of being acquired by Fox in a $440 deal, advertising video-on-demand (AVOD) service Tubi has introduced a dedicated kid’s channel for the Android platform and sealed a carriage deal with leading Canadian operator Rogers.
With total view time of over 163 million hours watched by the end of December 2019, Tubi claimed record growth for last year and is currently available on more than 25 digital platforms in the US, Canada and Australia and in the coming year is set to launch in additional territories including Mexico and the UK. The AVOD service offers over 20,000 movies and TV shows from nearly every major Hollywood studio such as new owner Fox and episodic television programming from over 250 content partners to a young-skewing user base. Described as a destination for age-appropriate content, the new Tubi Kids will be available to all Android users in the coming days, expanding its current availability on Roku, Fire TV and Comcast Xfinity. It will feature a library of children’s content — over 1,200 age-appropriate films and TV shows or over 5,000 hours of content — completely free in a dedicated section built just for families. Content includes Steven Spielberg's The Adventures of TinTin, Norm of the North, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, alongside series with iconic characters including Sonic the Hedgehog, Strawberry Shortcake, Paddington Bear and The Wiggles.
“We’re excited to expand the Tubi Kids library to Android’s billions of active devices so that more kids and families will have free and effortless access to thousands of hours of content,” remarked Tubi chief product officer Michael Ahiakpor. “Collaborating with one of the most widely used operating brands is key in our mission to democratize content and provide value to our customers.”
The full Tubi service is also being packaged to user of the Ignite TV service from Rogers. Content that will be available includes Aeon Flux, Blue Jasmine, Capote, Carriers, Defiance and Double Jeopardy. Commenting on its Canadian deal, Tubi vice president of business development Andrea Clarke-Hall said: “We’re excited to make premium content even more accessible to Canadians. With this partnership, Rogers Ignite TV customers can enjoy thousands of titles from our library at no additional cost.”
