Fox’s Tubi boosts AVOD offering with planning, measurement deals

Dive Brief:

Tubi, Fox Corporation's ad-support video-on-demand (AVOD) service, on March 23 introduced new planning tools and partnerships that will help brands utilize emerging identity solutions and currency options, according to a press release.
The news includes integrations with VideoAmp's Premium Video Planning Tool and LiveRamp TV activation for media forecasting and planning. Partnerships with VideoAmp and Comscore give advertisers more ways to measure audiences for campaigns.
Tubi is also adding Pause Ads to its suite of ad products, building on the success of Sponsorship and Total Takeover formats, per the release. The latest developments are part of Fox's ongoing efforts to make Tubi into a significant ad business.

Dive Insight:

Tubi's new integrations and ad formats are designed to appeal to advertisers as they prepare for an upfront season that seems poised to have an increased focus on emerging channels like AVOD.

For the last few years, Fox executives have described Tubi as a "growth engine" for the company, envisioning it as a “billion dollar business." Tubi last quarter saw ad revenue climb 25% year-over-year, with increases in almost every KPI. In February, the Fox platform accounted for 1% of total TV consumption, according to a Nielsen report cited in the press release, making it the most-watched free ad-supported TV (FAST) service in the U.S.

On the planning front, the news offers a way for brands to plan holistically across media channels through an integration of Tubi into VideoAmp's platform for Upfront and Scatter deals. Similarly, the LiveRamp TV Activation partnership will allow brands to use first- and third-party data to inform planned transactions.

In line with a renewed industry focus on the future of TV measurement, Tubi will allow brands to measure their campaigns using Comscore Campaign Ratings and VideoAmp Audience Measurement, providing another platform for advertisers to test alternatives for cross-screen measurement. The two VideoAmp integrations will provide advertisers with a solution that spans reach, frequency and attribution on Tubi.

Tubi will also launch Pause Ads, a format popularized by streaming platforms including Hulu and Peacock, that feature full-screen display messaging.

In another sign that the platform is a focus for Fox, Tubi delivered one of the most disruptive campaigns during this year's Super Bowl, with a 15-second ad that overlaid the Tubi browsing experience on footage of two Fox sports announcers, giving viewers the impression that someone was using the remote during the game. It followed up the stunt with a 60-second spot that featured creepy, giant rabbits pushing unsuspecting folks into rabbit holes to invoke the “rabbit hole” of content in the streamer’s library of channels.