Tubi CEO Farhad Massoudi image: Tubi

According to a report from The Information, Tubi TV, an ad supported streaming service, is in talks to raise around $150 million in new funding, which would be the largest it’s ever raised if it pulls through. The San Francisco-based streaming service has already raised tens of millions in funding, the last known being a $25 million infusion from Silicon Valley Bank early this year. A previous $20 million round, in 2017, was also led by Jump Capital, with participation from Foundation Capital, Danhua Capital and Cota Capital. Tubi TV is one of several companies that have sprouted up in recent years to offer a free ad-supported alternatives to top video streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. Such (free) streaming services conventionally license older movies and titles from studios on “non-exclusive” terms, meaning it’s usually available on other streaming services.

Tubi, launched in 2014, has partnered with and tapped content from top Hollywood studios like Lionsgate, Starz, Paramount Pictures, MGM and NBCUniversal [some of which are investors], enough to provide more than 12,000 movies and television series on its streaming service as of January this year (made known in a press release). In that same press release, Tubi said its overall viewership grew 4.3x year-over-year, and that it was profitable in the fourth quarter of 2018. Tubi is available on OTT devices like Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, and Xbox Consoles, and also has dedicated iOS and Android apps.

A screenshot of Tubi TV’s streaming app image: Tubi

In February, Tubi announced a content deal with NBCUniversal that added nearly 400 television episodes and movies to its streaming network. That deal was part of a plan by Tubi to invest “nine figures” into content acquisitions this year and rapidly grow its content catalog. In June, Tubi announced it had surpassed 20 million Monthly Active Users. Not long after [in August], the San Francisco-based streaming service expanded into Australia, marking its third market after the U.S. and Canada. It launched in Australia with an initial catalog of nearly 7,000 movies and television series, which it said it “will rapidly expand in the near future”. It’s plausible the company is looking to raise more funding to support its planned (seemingly) aggressive content acquisition.