Under a new deal with SiriusXM, Fox-owned AVOD player Tubi is the latest streamer to expand its content lineup with additional video podcasts.
The new non-exclusive pact between SiriusXM and Tubi covers distribution and monetization, with the AVOD player bringing a selection of the network’s video podcasts to its platform and the two partners sharing resulting ad sales.
The initial video podcast slate includes Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, Rotten Mango, The School of Greatness, What Now? with Trevor Noah, Moral of the Story, and The Deep 3 Podcast. Additional titles are expected to be added over time.
As the deal is non-exclusive, those shows will also continue to be distributed on their existing channels, including YouTube.
Tubi aims to be a home for creators
With a fandom-focused strategy in mind, Tubi has made a concerted effort for at least the past year to bring more creator content of different flavors (although has emphasized a commitment to long-form) to its platform. And to position it as place for diverse storytellers, social creators and those outside of traditional Hollywood avenues to find new audiences and extend their reach, while giving existing fans another place to watch. That can be seen via Tubi’s recent deal with TikTok, among other creator-focused content efforts. And it’s a message likely helped by the fact that Tubi now counts more than 100 million monthly active users.
That positioning was also present in the SiriusXM deal announcement, which Tubi suggests is a logical expansion of the CTV home for creators and fandom-focused content strategy.
“Tubi is a platform built to help creators grow their fanbases and revenue, and this partnership with SiriusXM is a natural extension of that,” said Rich Bloom, General Manager, Creator Programs & Executive Vice President, Business Development at Tubi. “By bringing some of the most compelling voices in podcasting to Tubi, we're giving creators a powerful new avenue to expand their reach and connect with viewers who are hungry for these stories. We're committed to being the platform where creators scale — and we're just getting started."
SiriusXM also endorsed the notion of reach extension and CTV discoverability via Tubi for creators on its podcast network.
“In podcasting, audio has long thrived through broad distribution across platforms, helping shows grow and connect with new audiences wherever people choose to listen,” said Andrew Moss, SVP of Content Strategy & Development at SiriusXM, in a statement. “We’re applying that same philosophy to video — expanding our creators’ reach across phones, computers, and connected TVs so their shows can be discovered by more fans in more places. Bringing our content to Tubi is another step in helping creators grow their audiences and businesses as video podcast viewing continues to expand.”
The new deal doesn’t mark Tubi’s first move into video podcasts, as free streaming platform already counts a selection including Crime Junkie, The Deck, The Other Football with Rob Gronkowski and Jameis Winston, How to Win the World Cup, and Alexi Lalas' State of the Union.
However it does mark another format for Tubi where personalities and “creators” if you will are at the center. And while maybe most akin to traditional TV talk shows, video podcasts are certainly distinct and an expansion in format from streamers’ libraries that are typically primarily filled by scripted and unscripted TV show series and films.
As streamers eye video podcasts, appetite still a question
Tubi isn’t the only streamer looking to get in on the popularity of podcasts.
In a notable deal, SVOD giant Netflix and Spotify last week announced a new multi-year agreement, reportedly worth $100 million, to bring the video version of popular motivational podcast “On Purpose” by Jay Shetty exclusively to both platforms.
While there’s no denying the popularity of podcasts and multiple streamers appear keen to add video versions to their lineups, as TVREV analyst Alan Wolk pointed out in a recent column – despite Google releasing stats around podcast consumption on YouTube, questions remain about success of the video formats on CTV and just how much appetite or attention there actually is for watching them on the TV screen.
“…we really have no idea whether people are actually watching the podcasts on YouTube or if they just have them on in the background for the audio because YouTube’s interface is easier to navigate,” wrote Wolk, noting that hasn’t stopped streaming services from lining up the format.
Still, he gave some advice to those looking to get in on the trend, telling Netflix and other streaming services that they need to make their mobile apps podcast-friendly.
“It’s not that people won’t want to watch your podcasts on TV. It’s that they’ll also want to listen to them when they’re walking the dog or in the car and you want to make it easy for them,” wrote Wolk. “You will also want to work to make your top podcasts more TV-friendly by art directing the sets for the big screen… while at the same time making sure it doesn’t all look too sleek.”
One recent nugget on podcast consumption comes from Edison Research’s Podcast Metrics, which looks at consumption on platforms among U.S. weekly podcast listers age 13 and older and added Netflix and Tubi to its list of trended podcast services in Q1.
Per its first wave of data, 14% of U.S. weekly podcast listeners have used Netflix to consume podcasts, while 4% have used Tubi (although the survey included both “listen” or “watch’ as consumption, so again, the question of the visual video element and engagement or attention there remains).
And keep in mind that while Netflix and Tubi appear to have enough podcast consumption happening to be tracked, but that is still dwarfed to large podcast platforms – where 64% of weekly podcast consumers have done so on YouTube and 42% consume on Spotify.
Tubi is the latest streamer to expand efforts on the trend and time will tell if podcasts indeed find meaningful success (and engaged, attentive audiences) via video formats on CTV.