Tubi Advertising for Lawyers: The FAST Platform Play

Tubi is the largest free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) service in the United States. No subscription, no paywall — just free movies and TV shows with commercial breaks. Fox Corporation acquired it in 2020 for $440 million, and it's now tracking toward $1 billion in annual revenue.

For law firms evaluating CTV options, Tubi represents the volume play: massive reach at lower CPMs than premium platforms, trading content prestige for advertising efficiency.

Tubi by the Numbers

The platform crossed a significant milestone in mid-2025:

Metric	Value	Source
Monthly active users	100+ million	Tubi announcement, June 2025
Monthly viewing hours	1+ billion (May 2025)	Tubi announcement
Share of total TV viewing	2.2%	Nielsen's The Gauge, May 2025
Content library	~300,000 titles	Tubi
Original productions	400+	Tubi

That 2.2% of total TV viewing makes Tubi larger than Peacock (1.3%), Max, and Paramount+ (1.2%) in terms of household market share. Among free streaming platforms, only YouTube commands more attention.

The Tubi Audience

Tubi's free model attracts a specific viewer profile:

Demographics:

• Over 50% Gen Z or Millennials
• 67% cord-cutters or cord-nevers
• Cost-conscious consumers who've opted out of paid streaming
• Slightly more diverse than traditional TV audiences

Viewing behavior:

• 95%+ of viewing is on-demand (not linear FAST channels)
• Nearly 1 in 4 viewers watch Tubi Originals
• 4-6 minutes of ads per hour (vs. 16+ minutes on traditional TV)

This audience composition matters for law firm targeting. Tubi viewers aren't the affluent households watching prestige HBO content. They're everyday people who'd rather deal with ads than pay $15/month for another streaming service.

For PI advertising specifically, this is often exactly who you want to reach — working-class and middle-class viewers who drive, work physical jobs, and don't have lawyers on retainer.

CPM Ranges and Costs

Tubi sits in the value tier of CTV advertising:

Platform Type	CPM Range	Examples
Premium	$35-55	Netflix, Hulu direct
Mid-tier	$25-35	Prime Video, Peacock
FAST/Value	$15-25	Tubi, Pluto TV, Freevee

Multiple sources confirm Tubi CPMs in the $15-25 range:

• Strategus reports $15-25 CPM for Freevee-class FAST platforms
• Tinuiti cites approximately $20 CPM, with agency partnerships potentially achieving 2-3x better efficiency
• Adwave confirms $15-30 CPM for typical small business campaigns

Compared to Hulu at $30-35 CPM or Netflix at $37+, Tubi delivers roughly twice the impressions per dollar. The tradeoff is content environment — library movies and TV versus next-day network programming.

How Tubi Advertising Works

Tubi runs on CPM pricing with standard video ad formats:

Ad formats available:

• Pre-roll (before content)
• Mid-roll (during content breaks)
• Standard lengths: :06, :15, :30, :60, :90

Ad experience:

• Full-screen, non-skippable
• Professional streaming environment
• Integrated with content breaks (feels like traditional TV)

Targeting options:

• Demographics (age, gender, household income)
• Geography (national, DMA, zip code)
• Interest-based targeting through programmatic data
• Genre/content clustering

Tubi supports buying through multiple paths:

Direct (for large advertisers): Minimum campaign budgets reportedly start around $25,000, positioning direct buys for medium to large advertisers.

Programmatic: Most advertisers access Tubi through programmatic platforms (The Trade Desk, MNTN, StackAdapt, etc.) where Tubi inventory is aggregated alongside other streaming services. This is the typical path for law firms — your CTV partner likely already has Tubi access.

Self-service platforms: Tools like Vibe.co and Adwave offer Tubi inventory with lower minimums ($50 in some cases), making it accessible for testing.

Tubi's Ad Technology

Tubi has invested heavily in advertising technology, which benefits campaign performance:

Advanced Frequency Management (AFM): Tubi's proprietary solution manages ad frequency across the platform. Early tests showed 366% reduction in over-frequency and significant reach increases. This matters because hitting the same viewer 15 times in a week wastes budget and annoys potential clients.

Measurement partnerships:

• VideoAmp for cross-platform measurement
• LiveRamp for identity resolution
• Comscore for audience verification
• Nielsen integration
• The Trade Desk integration

Data capabilities: Tubi can charge premium targeting rates because its free model generates rich viewing data. When you're not paying for content, you're providing behavioral data that makes targeting more precise.

When Tubi Makes Sense for Law Firms

Strong use cases:

1. Brand awareness at scale — When reach matters more than prestige, $20K on Tubi delivers 800,000+ impressions vs. 400,000 on Hulu
2. Testing CTV — Lower CPMs mean lower risk for first campaigns
3. Younger demographic targeting — If your cases skew toward 25-44, Tubi over-indexes
4. Cost-conscious audience alignment — PI clients often match Tubi's viewer profile
5. Complementing premium buys — Run Hulu for quality, Tubi for frequency

Weaker use cases:

1. Premium brand positioning — If content adjacency matters, Tubi's library content won't impress
2. Affluent targeting — High-income households are more likely on premium platforms
3. Older demographics — 55+ audiences under-index on Tubi
4. Geographic precision — Some local markets may have limited Tubi inventory

Tubi vs. Other FAST Platforms

How does Tubi compare to similar free streaming options?

Factor	Tubi	Pluto TV	Freevee	Roku Channel
Monthly users	100M+	80M+	~50M	~100M
Content model	95% on-demand	Linear channels + VOD	On-demand	Mixed
Owner	Fox	Paramount	Amazon	Roku
CPM range	$15-25	$12-22	$15-25	$20-35
Data advantage	Viewing behavior	Paramount data	Amazon purchase data	Device + viewing
Ad load	4-6 min/hour	Higher (linear)	Standard	Varies

Tubi's advantages:

• Largest pure on-demand FAST library
• Lower ad load than linear FAST
• Strong viewership growth trajectory
• Fox content integration

Tubi's limitations:

• No live sports inventory
• No Amazon-style purchase data
• Library content vs. current releases

Content and Brand Safety

Tubi's content library includes:

• Movies (catalog titles, not new releases)
• TV series (library content from major studios)
• Tubi Originals (400+ productions)
• Some news and sports content

The content skews toward entertainment rather than prestige. Think library movies and older TV series rather than the latest HBO drama. For brand safety, this is generally fine — you're not running next to news about mass shootings or controversial documentaries.

Tubi has content partnerships with 250+ providers and recently expanded into sports (Premier League matches in certain markets) and international content (CJ ENM Korean entertainment).

Practical Campaign Considerations

Creative requirements:

• Standard CTV specs (1080p minimum)
• Multiple lengths supported (:06 through :90)
• H.264 MP4 format
• QR codes work well (viewers often have phones nearby)

What works on Tubi:

Tubi viewers have explicitly chosen to watch ads in exchange for free content. They're not ad-averse premium subscribers grudgingly tolerating commercials. This creates a slightly more receptive environment, though you're still competing for attention.

Creative that acknowledges everyday realities tends to resonate — messaging about real situations (car accidents, workplace injuries) rather than aspirational lifestyle content.

Frequency management: With Tubi's AFM technology, the platform handles much of this automatically. Through programmatic buying, coordinate frequency caps across your entire CTV buy to avoid hammering the same households on Tubi AND other platforms.

Second-screen behavior: Tubi viewers often have phones in hand while watching. Strong CTAs with memorable phone numbers or clear web addresses take advantage of this. QR codes can work when viewers are engaged with their second screen.

Measuring Tubi Performance

Standard CTV measurement applies:

• Completion rates — Expect 95%+ for non-skippable inventory
• Reach and frequency — Track unique households reached
• Website visits — Pixel-based attribution for site traffic
• Search lift — Monitor branded search volume during campaigns
• Foot traffic — Available through third-party measurement for applicable businesses

Tubi's measurement partnerships (VideoAmp, LiveRamp, Comscore) enable cross-platform analysis, so you can understand how Tubi contributes alongside other channels.

The Bottom Line

Tubi offers law firms maximum CTV reach per dollar spent. At $15-25 CPMs with 100+ million monthly users, it's the volume play in streaming advertising.

The audience — cord-cutters, younger demographics, cost-conscious viewers — often aligns well with PI client profiles. You're reaching people who drive, work, and don't have family attorneys. The content environment is library movies rather than prestige TV, but for awareness-focused campaigns, that trade-off often makes sense.

Most law firms should include Tubi as part of a diversified CTV strategy rather than running it exclusively. Combine Tubi's reach with premium inventory on Hulu or Peacock to balance volume and quality. The platforms you don't choose become the platforms your competitors use to reach the households you're missing.

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