Fox-owned Tubi is teaming with TikTok in the free streamer’s latest push to bring creator-led content to its AVOD platform.
Announced Thursday, Tubi and TikTok’s Creatorverse Incubator program will select and support creators on the short-form social video giant to develop long-form original shows for Tubi.
TikTok will help identify creators for potential participation in the program and Tubi plans to announce the initial slate later this summer.
Original series developed by TikTok creators who are chosen for the program will premiere exclusively on Tubi for a window (of yet-to-be-disclosed length), span a variety of genres and come in both scripted and unscripted formats. Tubi said it will support creative direction that is shaped by the creator for the forthcoming series.
Tubi didn’t specify criteria for TikTok creators considered or chosen for the program, but a company representative told StreamTV Insider that the types it engages with through the TikTok Creatorverse will fit within the same parameters of the broader Tubi for Creators program: Meaning those creators that have both an engaged following that aligns with Tubi’s programming strategy focused on fandom genres like comedy, horror and coming-of-age, and who are also multi-hyphenate storytellers that often have chops for a variety of creation aspects like producing, writing, shooting and acting.
Tubi’s touting it as an opportunity for creators to expand their reach and fandoms by bringing shows to its free streaming platform that counts more than 100 million monthly active users while also allowing and helping them make the jump from social video to premium shows.
In that regard it’s focused on curating creators from TikTok that are capable of that transition and Tubi's providing support to help their shift to develop long-form shows, such as collaborating with the Tubi Originals team.
“Tubi is doubling down on giving creators a real bridge from digital platforms to premium long-form storytelling,” said Rich Bloom, general manager of Creator Programs and EVP of Business Development at Tubi, in a statement “TikTok has become one of the most powerful engines for discovering creative voices and building passionate communities at scale. This partnership allows us to work with successful TikTok creators who are ready to take the next step creatively, expanding their fandoms to new audiences on Tubi and bringing Tubi fans more stories they can’t find anywhere else.”
Tubi has already seen benefits of bringing creator content to its platform, with the spokesperson telling STV Insider that creator content is attracting a younger audience to the AVOD with a median new viewer age of under 30. And it’s seeing higher retention from these viewers, who are watching both creator-made and Hollywood-produced content.
Tapping TikTok communities and promotional, content discovery tools
TikTok creators have an opportunity to extend their business beyond social video through the new incubator with Tubi, while on the flip side Tubi can tap into the communities around and continued consumer engagement with content from creators on the short-form social video powerhouse.
It can also leverage TikTok’s utility as a content discovery and promotional vehicle for longer-form content and the platform’s role in helping drive fan engagement and conversations around entertainment, including with younger audiences.
As part of the partnership, TikTok will use its TikTok Spotlight marketing feature to promote the content and encourage fan conversations around the original series on Tubi.
Although streamers face competition from social video platforms like TikTok and YouTube for consumer time and attention, recent third-party findings from Hub Entertainment Research show how social video apps like TikTok are also a key place for younger people to first find out about TV shows and movies - serving as a tool to help audiences discover and engage with longer-form content like that on Tubi.
Per Hub, 59% of viewers 13-24-years-old said they often discover new TV show and movies by watching clips on apps like TikTok and Instagram. That rises to 65% among those age 25-34 and dips to about one-third among those age 35 and up.
“Viewers embrace how easy and fun it is to watch social and creator videos at YouTube, TikTok and Instagram," stated Jason Platt Zolov, study author and Senior Consultant at Hub. "As this content continues to migrate from mobile phones to living room TV sets, there's great opportunity to develop even more compelling creator programming - as well as unique ways to promote traditional TV and movies via those social platforms.”
TikTok itself is looking to monetize this factor. In addition to the TikTok Spotlight marketing product, in January it added ad formats specifically designed for entertainment providers and streaming services to promote their longer-form content titles to TikTok users and drive subscription signups.
"TikTok is committed to empowering creators on our platform and throughout their career journey," stated Dawn Yang, global head of Entertainment Partnerships at TikTok, in the Tubi announcement. "Our creators have built deeply engaged audiences on TikTok, and our partnership with Tubi will give the next generation of entertainers more opportunities to expand their audiences, tell bigger stories, and turn their creativity into lasting impact."
Another step in Tubi's creator content push
Tubi, meanwhile, continues to see momentum for its platform, capturing a 2.1% of U.S. TV time in January, according to Nielsen's The Gauge – where it regularly appears and outpaces premium paid streamers like those from NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery.
And while TikTok represents the latest, Tubi has made multiple earlier moves to tap into creators, fandoms and bring content and storytellers from outside traditional Hollywood avenues onto its platform.
In the past 10 months alone, the AVOD platform added more than 16,000 episodes from more than 200 creators.
In carving out a name in the free streaming space Tubi has positioned itself with a brand identity and content strategy that’s focused on fandoms. In support of that, it’s taken a variety of approaches to creator content, including greenlighting fan-supported original content projects, syndicating content from creators popular on YouTube and TikTok, and striking a deal for creator-led original films with well-known names.
By way of some specific examples, it has the Tubi for Creators initiative that’s included earlier efforts like the 2024 fan-fueled project incubator Stubios. Last summer it made another move, adding 5,000 episodes of existing videos from popular creators like Jimmy Donaldson (aka MrBeast), Jomboy Media, comedy sketch creator Steven He and the melodrama high school series Alan’s Universe by YouTuber Alan Chikin Chow.
It followed that in October with a film deal with Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat entertainment company for four original, creator-driven film titles – marking Tubi’s first-ever exclusive creator content slate as part of the Tubi for Creators initiatives.
Tubi survey shows appetite for creators on streaming
Earlier this week Tubi released its own commissioned study The Stream 2026, conducted by The Harris Poll, which supports the notion that U.S. adult streaming audiences are interested and looking for creator-led content and fandom focuses on premium streaming platforms.
Per the survey, 67% of respondents said digital creator content feels more original than most TV shows or movies, while 63% say watching creator content feels no different than streaming a TV show.
More than half (56%) of those surveyed think creators are celebrities similar to Hollywood talent, while 37% reported a desire for platforms to bring existing creator content onto streaming services. And 36% say they want creators cast in original programming.
There also appears to be audience interest in content from smaller or independent creators – with 76% saying they want more original content from those types and 73% reporting that they like to watch smaller creators because it feels like direct support (up 10% yoy).
In addition to attracting audiences already gravitating towards creators on social video like TikTok, Tubi’s moves gives creators a chance to tap into a streaming audience that the company regularly touts as younger-skewing and more diverse, and of which 31% was not found on YouTube as of October.
The latest creator push comes as Tubi prepares to make its annual pitch to advertisers next Tuesday during the ad-supported streamer’s 2026 IAB NewFront presentation.