Tubi Scored a Big Chunk of Super Bowl Viewers. It Wants Them to Stick Around

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It was unexpected for many, yet unsurprising to Tubi’s team members themselves, that a significant number of Super Bowl viewers opted to watch the game through their platform.

According to Nicole Parlapiano, Tubi’s Chief Marketing Officer, our predictions were accurate. We had data from past Super Bowl events to base our expectations on, and we also used a complex model to estimate potential results.

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Nicole Parlapiano, Tubi’s Chief Marketing Officer, confirmed that our expectations were met. We relied on historical data from previous Super Bowls and a sophisticated model to predict the outcome.

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In her conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Nicole Parlapiano, Tubi’s Chief Marketing Officer, stated that our predictions matched reality. We used past Super Bowl results as a guide and employed a complex model to estimate what we might achieve.

Tubi recorded approximately 13.6 million viewers on its live stream of Fox’s Super Bowl LIX broadcast on Sunday. This is based on their own data and Adobe Analytics. It represents over 10% of the record-breaking viewer count (127.7 million) for the game, making it the highest streaming number yet for a Super Bowl. Furthermore, it nearly doubled the streaming audience that Fox’s last Super Bowl in 2023 attracted via their app, which was carried by Fox Sports.

According to Parlapiano, Tubi aimed its Super Bowl stream at less formal fans and individuals without a cable or satellite service, considering that an avid NFL fan would likely have already arranged for game viewing. She explained, “We wanted to ensure that if we were collaborating, it wouldn’t just be about choosing where to watch it, but rather providing an additional, valuable experience.” Additionally, it’s probable that Tubi’s audience demographic differed from the main broadcast’s, as Tubi doesn’t yet have comprehensive demographic information for the Super Bowl. However, Parlapiano mentioned that nearly half of its users are adults under 45, which is significantly younger than the average viewer of the main broadcast.

Tubi’s upcoming task involves keeping new Super Bowl viewers engaged and returning. The platform revealed in January that it boasts approximately 97 million monthly active users, an increase from the 78 million recorded in mid-2024.

Tubi provides a variety of smaller live sports, including Liga MX soccer from Mexico and NBA G League games, as well as on-demand access to previous Fox Sports content, sports movies, and documentaries. As Parlapiano mentioned, a significant increase in viewership (referred to as a “hockey-stick moment”) could potentially alter the course of the business permanently. To maintain this growth, Tubi has invested in a wide range of programming to keep viewers engaged post-Super Bowl. This includes popular films like Dune, which are appearing for the first time in an ad-supported environment, as well as original content that Tubi has funded. The aim is to present a strong lineup to retain and attract users back.

It’s unlikely that Tubi will regularly stream major live sports. This is because Fox is planning to launch a separate streaming platform focused on sports, and it’s costly for ad-supported streamers to enter the market seriously in this area according to Parlapiano.

Tubi plans to persistently focus on content related to sports and its cultural aspects. According to Parlapiano, the strategy is geared towards where sports intersect with culture, and it can be argued that the Super Bowl isn’t just a sporting event, but a cultural phenomenon. People watch it for the halftime show, commercials, and celebrity appearances. This aligns well with Tubi’s audience as they are more entertainment-oriented. There are projects we have funded that reside at the intersection of sports and culture. In terms of our partnership with Fox Sports, there is a significant potential to expand shoulder programming around athletes and their stories to complement their major live events.

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2025-02-13 03:25