Tubi Goes All-In on Original Programming

Tubi39s first big original programming effort takes place this month with a number of premieres linked in one way or another to Halloween The bundle39s first original series is Meet Marry Murder a truecrime anthology detailing incidents wherein people were killed by their partners hosted and executive produced by Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Gossip Girl actress Michelle Trachtenberg Other firstrun presentations during October include Harland Manor a movie in which paranormal investigators immerse themselves in a search for ghosts inside an historic edifice and Celebrity Exorcism bringing TV and sports personalities together to engage in a paranormal boot camp followed by participation in an exorcism ceremonyWith this trio of approaches Tubi is out to both differentiate itself from the rest of the multichannel bundle field and deliver a higher consistent level of engagement with viewers explained Adam Lewinson the venture39s chief content officer Just recall how the fortune of individual cable services was transformed after their first moves with original series quotThink about FX before and after The Shield Think about AMC before and after Mad Men and Breaking Bad It certainly can changequot Lewinson asserted quotNetflix many years ago was synonymous with House of Cards Today I don39t think there is one series that is synonymous with Netflix It39s dozens or hundreds depending on how you want to look at it Original content can clearly be a differentiator The deeper level of engagement especially when you layer in originals is really meaningful for viewersquotLewinson chalks up the move into original content to three factors the desire to fuel viewer engagement for an advertisersupported ondemand AVOD operation the maturity of audience data processes which can spot viewing trends and tapping Fox39s vast content arsenal quotWe only make money through advertising so if we don39t have viewers streaming content we don39t make moneyquot he said quotFor that reason my job is about engagement How do I engage our viewers with content that they feel passionate about and stories and representation onscreen that speaks to what people want to seequotMore than 35000 movies and TV series are currently available ondemand through Tubi arranged into individual channels by genre or supplier collections The bundle is offered free to users more than 33 million nationwide as of this past January with advertiser support over most smart TV sets and devices Tubi also programs a set of channels catering to kids and families and another set featuring Spanishlanguage programs AampampE Dove Channel Dust Fox Sports and Lifetime are among the linear networks presented on TubiquotRoll that up together and now seemed like the right time to develop our originals planquot Lewinson saidWith 42 percent of Tubi39s audience identifying themselves with a multicultural background look for diversity to play a large role in what firstrun content Lewinson and his associates commissionquotRepresentation in front of and behind the camera is tremendously important to usquot said Lewinson who played content development roles at Lifetime Television Crackle and FX before joining Tubi quotYou39re going to find a very steady stream of diverse contentquot he notedSpecific titles involving African American Latino and Asian American talent are in development DomingoSunday a Spanishlanguage movie started on Tubi39s Spanishlanguage set of services Tubi en Espanol last month and quickly picked up a followingquotIt was a very charming movie and quite universalquot Lewinson recalled quotThis movie did not have to be in my native tongue for me to be completely captivated by itquotMovies like Harland Manor and upcoming sciencefiction adventure Corrective Measures out next spring with Bruce Willis and Michael Rooker leading the cast could transition from oneshot presentations to ongoing series if viewer reaction matches or exceeds expectations Ditto an unscripted effort like Celebrity Exorcism quotWe39re very openminded and if one or any number of these projects are successful we39re open to a series formatquot he continued quotOver time you will certainly see sequels andor extensions to various storylines or IP across Tubi If our viewers want to see more we39re happy to provide them with morequotAs of this writing Tubi has not announced firstrun cartoon content Stay tuned for developments in that arena Fox management maintains Be on the lookout as well for development of unique advertiser relationships with Tubi originals quotIt39s a triedandtrue conversation that our sales team is going to continually have with various brands about different ways to engage beyond commercialsquot Lewinson said quotThere39s a wide variety of ways that brands can be promoted on Tubi or integrated into contentquotAs other multichannel bundles join smart TV sets and devices in generating original programming and fulltime services the environment quotbecomes a game about understanding your audience and how to engage with your viewerquot he explained quotUltimately my job is to understand the viewer What they want and what they39re asking you for is very very different than what you will find on other platforms We39re going to keep focusing on what viewers are asking for and make sure whatever we make is engaging with our viewers It39s a viewerfirst approachquotClick the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Tubi Goes All-In on Original Programming

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Simon Applebaum

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