Tubi may be free, but here's why I still avoid it like the plague

Key Takeaways

Tubi offers a vast library of content for free, with 80 million users.
Tubi’s success lies in its offering of obscure media and its ad-supported model.
Ad-supported platforms like Tubi may be the future of streaming.

There’s nothing better than free, but even ‘free’ comes at a hidden cost. While Netflix dominates the world of subscription streaming services and competitors like Disney+ and Max try to keep up, there’s one streaming service that’s been quietly catching huge masses of eyeballs: Tubi.

Tubi is just one of many so-called FAST services, which stands for “free ad-supported television,” with other popular examples including Pluto TV and Roku Channel. Tubi, though, is top of the heap, with a reported 80 million active users. That is, in part, thanks to the service’s incredibly wide-ranging library of films and TV shows, all available to users for free.

Unfortunately, despite my admiration for Tubi, I hate watching it. All because of the feature that keeps it free: the ads.

Tubi

Tubi is a free streaming platform that offers a vast collection of TV shows, movies, and even access to live TV channels. Tubi is available across all major platforms via a dedicated application or via the web.

number of users: 80 million
notable shows: Hemlock Grove , Babylon 5 , Spartacus , Gotham , Columbo
notable movies: Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead , Child’s Play , White House Down , Knives Out , It
Premium Subscription: No
Originals: Yes
Live TV: 200+ channels
Price: Free

Stream from Virgin Media initial review: Contract-free internet TV in one box photo 8

The hidden cost of using Tubi and other free TV services

As it turns out, free TV isn’t always free.

What makes Tubi the best FAST streaming service

Content is king, and Tubi is the king of content

Unsplash / Dario / Erol Ahmed / Erik Mclean / Pocket-lint

Different FAST services offer different appeals. Pluto TV, for example, is built around channels that run 24/7, offering users an experience similar to cable, but even more focused on specific genres, and sometimes even specific shows.

Tubi has its own page of live-streaming channels, but its real killer app is the library itself. With over 23,000 movies and 700 TV shows, Tubi really has something for everyone. That includes everything from huge Hollywood hits like Shrek, to original low-budget horror movies.

Tubi is a perfect playground for people in search of obscure media.

In fact, among many pop culture hounds and historians, the depth of the library has unearthed content that in many cases hasn’t been readily available for decades, like forgotten TV movies from the ’80s, or European exploitation movies from the ’70s. Tubi is a perfect playground for people in search of obscure media.

9 amazing TV shows to stream on Tubi right now

There’s so much to stream for free on Tubi, including TV hits like Gotham, Scandal and more.

The reason I hate watching Tubi

It’s all about those ads

I grew up before the streaming takeover — before DVRs, even. That means I grew up watching TV with commercials, which was completely normal. Every show or movie aired on TV would feature numerous interruptions. TV scripts were structured to accommodate ad breaks, and at worst, I might use that time to go to the washroom or grab something from the kitchen. But the ads were there, and I never liked them.

To put it simply, I hate ads.

When DVR came into the picture, my whole world shifted. Suddenly, even when something I recorded did feature ads, I could skip past them. It was still annoying, but it was a massive improvement. And then streaming entered the picture. Suddenly, ads didn’t take up the majority of my content, all thanks to Netflix and other services.

Tubi creates a TikTok knock-off to advertise its shows

Tubi has launched a new feature called Scenes to help viewers find shows to watch, and it’s very similar to TikTok.

In fact, it’s gotten to the point where I outright avoid watching shows on network TV or cable specifically, so I won’t have to suffer through commercials. Sometimes I’ll avoid a show I might otherwise want to watch simply because it’s not easily available to me in ad-free form.

To put it simply, I hate ads. Which means, I kind of hate Tubi, too. Or, at least, I hate watching Tubi despite loving everything else they do. That rare old kung-fu movie might sound great, but the idea of it being interrupted by ad breaks on Tubi will keep me from watching.

Tubi is the future of streaming

Ads aren’t going anywhere

Crackle/Pluto TV/Tubi/Pocket-Lint

I may hate watching anything with ads, but 80 million other viewers clearly don’t feel the same way. Tubi is popular because it’s free, and the ads are an acceptable part of the bargain for many people.

And it’s not just Tubi, either. FAST services are now a major part of the streaming game, and even the big subscription streamers have taken note. In recent years, Netflix, Disney+, Max, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and Paramount+ have all introduced lower-priced subscription tiers featuring ads. Peacock is actually free to watch with ads, and users can buy a subscription to get rid of them.