Tubi becomes a modern-day David and Goliath story, soaring above other streaming giants

Making fun of Tubi? Big mistake. Huge. The streaming service platform that’s produced films like Titanic 666 and Most Wanted Santa, has at times been the butt of jokes regarding some low-budget original shows and just the name, Tubi. But Tubi is laughing now.

This past spring, the free and legal streaming service Tubi raked in a record number of viewers—according to Nielsen data as first reported by the Los Angeles Times. Tubi’s average audience spiked by 46% in one year, reaching 1 million in May. It rose above legacy streamers including Disney+, Peacock, Paramount, and Max, noted the Times.

The rise of Tubi can be attributed to the age-old value of a deal. And the best deal of all, of course, is costing nothing. “Tubi’s momentum is the result of having a true flywheel in streaming: We’re free (and committed to staying that way),” Tubi CEO Anjali Sud said in a statement to Fortune, adding that the platform has the “world’s largest content library with a diverse set of stories and storytellers.” Having joined Tubi only in 2023, Sud recognizes that this is baked into Tubi’s style, a model that was “invested in consistently for over a decade.”

“It is different to be 100% free. We’re not asking you to subscribe to an ad tier or to a subscription tier,” Sud said in April on the Ringer’s podcast The Town With Matthew Belloni of the ad-supported streamer’s success.

“We’re not trying to upsell you,” she added, noting that it’s “as easy to start watching a movie on Tubi as it is to open up TikTok.” The free nature of Tubi becomes all the more appealing when other platforms are hiking their prices.

As every network has rolled out its own one-word streaming service, the market has grown oversaturated and pricey. In 2023, the Wall Street Journal predicted that the cost of watching one of the main ad-free streaming platforms would go up by 25% in a year.

Indeed, prices inflated, as Fortune’s Rachyl Jones reported in November; half of major U.S. streaming platforms charged a monthly fee that was twice the price they charged upon first entering the space.

Apple increased prices, as did Peacock and Max. Netflix, which recently cracked down on account-sharing (to the chagrin of many), announced that it was set to increase prices again this year. While it experienced record profits during its first quarter, Netflix announced that as of 2025 it would stop reporting quarterly subscriber numbers after a period of slow growth before its password mandate.

TV watchers are tired: In November 2023 the monthly churn for major streamers reached 6.3%, an increase from 5.1% the previous year—per subscriptions analytics group Antenna. And when the iron is lukewarm, that’s when Tubi strikes.

“We’re seeing our value proposition resonate even more today with a highly engaged audience who are majority cord-cutters and cord-nevers,” Sud tells Fortune. She told the Ringer that the group that doesn’t pay for cable represents 60% of the Tubi audience. “We see our momentum as good validation of our strategy, and will continue to lean into our strengths and skate where the puck is going,” she added, noting that 40% of Tubi’s viewership are “not on other traditional streamers.”

Another key strength for Tubi is its extensive catalog of over 240,000 movies and TV shows, according to its CEO. Its viewers are not looking for Oscar winners, Sud notes. Rather, its younger audience “care[s] more about authenticity than critical acclaim.”

And Sud is focused on that core base which doesn’t “feel as represented in the prestige content you see today.” Indeed, Tubi tilts young, as the Ringer’s Belloni points out, almost half its audience is between ages 13 and 30. Around half of the platform’s viewership identifies as multicultural (which includes Black, Latino, Asian, and LGBTQ+ users), the Los Angeles Times noted.

These young users, who are more likely to be economically vulnerable and therefore more impacted by inflation, might find the allure of a free platform more striking as they’re forced out of the main streaming platforms. They’re also just watching TV differently.

Free and accessible might win the game, if Tubi’s story becomes legend. “Ultimately we’re not competing with fast or streaming—we’re competing with social and gaming and anything someone chooses to spend their time being entertained by,” Sud says.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com