NEW YORK—The free-ad-supported streaming platform Tubi is reporting rapid growth in its viewing and audiences for 2022, with a 44% bounce in total viewing time, more than 5 billion streaming hours and 64 million monthly average users.
Tubi’s annual audience report also included survey data showing that 57% of those surveyed plan to cut paid TV and video services and that the average person is looking to cut 3 out of 5 of their existing video services. About 1 in 4 respondents think the future of streaming will include free services with limited ads.
"As subscription costs continue to rise, nearly 1 in 3 streamers plan to reduce spending on streaming services this year," said Mark Rotblat, chief revenue officer, Tubi said in a statement as the streamer issued its annual audience report, “The Stream 2023: Actionable Audience Insights for Brands.” "With consumers turning to AVOD to complement the select SVOD services they choose to keep, Tubi offers a brand-safe environment for advertisers looking to tap into an incremental, young, diverse, and highly engaged streaming audience."
The research also found that Tubi's audience continues to be young and increasingly diverse. African American and LGBT audiences grew over 50% in 2022, and audience growth exceeded 25% in each major level of household income and the Hispanic demo - according to MRI.
Additionally, Tubi's core younger demographic remains strong - more than 1 in 3 (36%) Tubi streamers are between the ages of 18 and 34.
Tubi is owned by Fox.
Other key findings from the report include:
- Cord cutting continues and CTV ad spend is on the rise: 3 out of 4 consumers agree that AVODs are a practical alternative to cable and satellite TV. As CTV advertising continues to grow, funding isn't just coming from linear budgets - this year significant digital video, social media, OOH, and traditional media dollars shifted to CTV.
- SVODs curbing password sharing may increase churn: 35% of streamers access other people's digital video streaming services and 45% of streamers want to stream without having an account. SVODs aim to curb these losses by charging accounts shared across multiple households, which is expected to increase churn.
- Effective content and recommendations drive viewer satisfaction: Tubi identified five types of streamers in its research. From "recommendation seekers" to "genre-focused browsers," they all share the same 3 drivers of satisfaction: "a good mix" of content, effective recommendations, and seamless navigation. When it comes to ease of use, the bar is higher for AVOD - 34% of streamers expect ease of use in SVODs while it jumps to 59% for FAST/AVOD.
- Viewers prefer light ad loads and standard ad formats: 51% of streamers are satisfied with 6 minutes of ads per hour. While streaming services experiment with new ad formats, Tubi found that standard video ads are currently preferred by streamers over other formats such as split screen, interactive, or QR code ads.
- Diverse and unreachable audiences drive AVOD spend: As advertisers evaluate the state of streaming TV, more ad dollars are being dedicated to streaming buys than ever before - 4 out of 5 advertisers now regard advertising on streaming television as highly valuable. Growth in monthly active users, the presence of otherwise hard to reach young and multicultural streamers, and the ability to reach hard to find audiences were cited as key drivers for AVOD ad spend.
