Why Tubi is quietly becoming the most exciting streaming service for movie lovers
There was once a time when Netflix would send DVDs of almost any movie you could imagine straight to your home. Their catalog was like the Library of Alexandria for film geeks, allowing regular people to attend their very own private film school.
But then the brand new world of streaming came along and everything changed. Today, most streaming services have invested a lot of money in original programming. In practice, this has meant that their catalogs have suffered greatly and the selection is now quite sparse – especially when it comes to films from before the 1980s.
All of the streaming services combined can cobble together a respectable offering, but the humble Tubi seems to increasingly stand out for the depth and quality of its film selection. Tubi may not have the name recognition of Netflix, but it’s quickly becoming one of the most valuable streaming services in any film lover’s arsenal.
Licensed films disappear from streaming services
As streamers raise their prices, they are under constant pressure from shareholders to not only maintain but grow their subscriber base. Many streamers have decided to pivot to original content to attract viewers to movies and TV shows that were only found on their platform.
There is a certain logic to this. If you want to see “Bridgerton”, you have to need Netflix. But it’s also an incredibly expensive business model. Netflix, Prime Video and Apple TV Plus are spending more and more money on original content, both on projects they create themselves and on independently produced films whose distribution rights they buy for staggering sums.
When streamers invest in originals, they end up significantly shrinking their licensed film catalogs, abandoning all cinematic history in favor of whatever new project they’re excited about at the time. As a result, they’re crammed with original films and series that vary dramatically in quality, from the cheapest, throwaway reality shows (ahem, “Selling Sunset”) to the occasional prestige drama designed for awards season (“Maestro”).
Tubi cleans up the leftovers
While Tubi has only tentatively dabbled in creating original content, it is quickly becoming a go-to destination for viewers interested in films made before 2000. Increasingly, off-the-beaten-path films from the ’90s, ’80s, or, God forbid, even earlier, are being offered on Tubi rather than on the subscription-based platforms.
A quick look at their current lineup reveals Hitchcock dramas, silent films, foreign classics, indie dramas, and pretty much anything else you could want. What’s more, their interface seems to have arranged the catalog according to some sort of Earth logic, which is more than many other streaming services can claim.
You can sort by genre, of course, but Tubi also has strong sections of curated content. If you look in “Cult Classics,” for example, you’ll find films as diverse as “Tank Girl,” “Basket Case,” “Freaks,” “Waterworld,” and “Party Monster.” The “Cancelled Too Soon” section has a delightful collection of one-season wonders that most people barely remember, like “Pan Am,” “The Tomorrow People,” and “Swamp Thing.”
The depth of Tubi’s catalog and the company’s willingness to include more unusual titles rather than focusing exclusively on a small selection of predictable classics make the free streaming service the medium of discovery that these platforms were always meant to be.
You don’t have to pay a single cent
And let us not forget: Tubi is free. The leading streaming services are constantly raising their prices, trying to find new ways to offer less and charge more. By introducing ads that you can only avoid by paying an even higher fee and cracking down on password sharing, Netflix and its competitors seem to be reaching a stranglehold where subscribers are left to question whether it’s even worth it. Meanwhile, Tubi has built ads into each of its videos, but that’s easily forgiven considering you don’t pay a single cent to watch their content.
Don’t worry, we still love Netflix, Prime Video, Max, Hulu, etc. They’ve given us hours of exciting original content, even if peppered with some less-than-brilliant offerings. But while those providers have paved the way to develop their own shows and movies, Tubi has quietly and efficiently crept in and carved out a space for itself by adopting the business model that originally made Netflix successful when it still operated exclusively by mail: creating a vast catalog of content that spans the history of film and television.
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