What is Tubi? Free movie and TV streaming service

Publish date: 2022-12-09

There are many video streaming services available, but many of them cost money after their free trials are over. If you want to save some cash and watch movies and TV beyond the antenna, Tubi has your back. It offers tons of free movies and TV episodes to stream, some of which may even surprise you.

Read more: Best video streaming services

You can watch Tubi right now on its website via the link below.

What is Tubi TV?

Founded in 2014, the service streams 20,000 movies and TV shows for free from various platforms. It’s currently available in the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Mexico. In early 2020, Fox Entertainment acquired Tubi TV for $440 million. Currently, Fox says the service has 33 million active monthly users.

Does the service run commercials?

Yes. To support itself, Tubi TV shows and movies do run ads before and during their content. However, on average, the amount of commercials is below that of broadcast and basic cable TV shows.

Is Tubi TV worth it?

Since the service is free to access, it’s definitely worth it just to try it out. Tubi TV has a lot of great content, and if you can handle a few old-fashioned TV commercials, you will definitely be entertained and not have to worry about paying any subscription fees.

That being said, you will not get a lot of original, exclusive content on Tubi TV. The most popular streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime, and HBO Max will continue to be home for the most recent and most talked about streaming shows and movies for some time.

What platforms does Tubi TV support?

You can stream Tubi TV shows and movies from a variety of different platforms. You can download the Tubi apps for iOS and Android to watch its content on mobile devices. It’s also available on Roku streaming sticks, set-top boxes, and TVs that have the Roku OS installed, and the same goes for Amazon Fire TV-based sticks, set-top boxes, and TVs. The service also is available on Android TV-based devices such as the Nvidia Shield set-top box.

Tubi supports casting to TVs via Google Chromecast and devices that have Chromecast built-in. It’s available on gaming consoles and Apple’s TV set-top boxes. You can stream the service on Samsung, Sony, and Vizio smart TVs as well. PC owners can use their web browser to surf the TubiTV.com site to sign up and watch content. Finally, Tubi is preloaded on TiVo set-box boxes and cable Xfinity and Contour boxes from Comcast and Cox cable TV systems.

What other features does the service have?

If you register for free at the Tubi TV Activate web page, you get access to a few more features. These include creating a queue of upcoming videos to watch and recommended content to stream, among others. The big feature for a Tubi TV Activate registration is the ability to keep watching a previously paused video where you left off, no matter the device.

Tubi TV movie lineup

The selection of movies on Tubi tends to be very fluid, with lots of new films added each month and lots of other movies removed each month. Having said that, the service does have a solid selection of both recent and older films to choose from. There are also movies that, for the time being, are only being shown on Tubi for free.

Some of the other movies you can currently watch include:

Tubi TV show lineup

The selection of TV shows on Tubi is a bit more stable. You will find many older TV dramas and series on the service, plus a few more recent shows. The service includes special collections of movies and shows under different categories, including Nostalgia TV, Cult Classics, and more.

Some of the shows you can watch include:

The service also has a special Kids section that, when selected, only shows TV shows and movies that are PG rated and below. The service recently announced it has an exclusive with Japan’s Toei Animation to offer several TV shows and specials exclusively on Tubi. That includes series in the popular One Piece anime series.

Original movies and series

In 2021, Tubi slowly began adding original exclusive movies and series to its service. Most of the movies are very low budget and focus on genre films like sci-fi, horror, and thrillers. Tubi has also been adding some original series as well. It started with the true-crime series Meet, Marry, Murder. In December 2021, it launched The Freak Brothers, an animated series that’s loosely based on the 1970s underground comic book The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, created by Gilbert Shelton. The show has the two Freak Brothers smoke some “special” weed that puts them to sleep for 50 years. They awaken in modern times and have to adjust to present-day life. The voice cast includes Woody Harrelson, John Goodman, Tiffany Haddish, Pete Davidson, and Adam Devine.

Free Fox network content, including The Masked Singer

Since Fox has acquired Tubi, the TV network has been adding many recent Fox shows to the free streaming service. Most of them are in the reality/game show categories. The most interesting thing is that Tubi offers free access to most of the past seasons of The Masked Singer show. The competition series, where celebrities hidden in elaborate costumes sing for a group of judges, is perhaps the biggest show on Fox. The service has continued to add more of these recent Fox reality show series just a few weeks after episodes air on the Fox network, including Lego Masters, Next Level Chef, Joe Millionaire: For Richer or Poorer, and more.

Live local news

The service also offers live TV news from close to 100 local stations in the US that cover 24 of the top 25 US markets. It also has national live news from Fox, NBC, Bloomberg, and more, 

Some of the news channels that are available include:

Best alternatives

Tubi TV is certainly not alone when it comes to free streaming services. Here’s a look at just a few of its rivals.

Crackle

One of the oldest of the free streaming services, Crackle not only has a solid amount of movies and TV shows to watch for free, but it also has many exclusive original films and series to stream as well. It also offers some extra features if you sign up for a free account, including parental controls.

Pluto TV

Pluto TV offers on-demand access to thousands of TV shows and movies and offers hundreds of “channels” that stream content 24/7. You can watch live news, movies in several different categories, TV shows like Star Trek, and many other shows, including kids and Spanish language channels.

IMDb TV

Amazon’s free content streaming service has been gaining traction over the past year. You can watch great recent films on the service, along with terrific television shows like Lost or Mad Men, for free. It’s also adding more original content, starting with the UK spy drama Alex Rider. We expect more original shows to be made available over the next year. It’s definitely one to watch.

Peacock

Comcast/Roku

NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service lets you watch thousands of movies and television shows for free. It also has channels like Pluto TV that stream content, including live news and more. For $4.99 a month, you can access even more movies and shows. You can also pay $9.99 a month to enjoy the service ad-free.

Other FAQs

Q: Does Tubi TV offer streams in 4K?
A: At the moment, the service does not offer 4K streaming shows or movies.

Q: Can you share a Tubi TV account with friends and family?
A: Yes, you can share your Tubi TV account with others. 

Q: Does Tubi TV have parental controls?
A: Yes. Once you register for a free account, you can then go into the Parental Control section. You can then select which content is accessible on your account. You can set it for Adults (R, NC-17. NR, and TV-MA), Teens (PG-13, TV-14), Older Kids (PG, TV-PG, TV-y7), or Little Kids (G, TV-Y, TV-G). Once you set it, you can also put in your own password, so only you have the power to change the content ratings.

Q: Does the service feature advertisements?
A: Yes, there are ads while streaming shows and movies on the service. They usually last about the same as a standard broadcast TV commercial break, if not shorter.

Q: Does Tubi TV work offline?
A: Unfortunately, the service’s mobile apps do not currently support downloads of its shows. However, it could add that feature at a later date.

Q: What internet speeds are required to access Tubi TV?
A: The service requires download internet speeds of at least 1Mbps. The recommended speed for the best video and audio experience is 4Mbps.

That’s everything you need to know about Tubi. We will update this article as more features and content are added to the service.

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