Free ad-supported streamer Tubi has launched a new program called Tubi for Creators that’s designed to bring digital-first creators onto its platform. And this content expansion initiative is kicking off with six YouTube partners already on board. 

Tubi for Creators was developed to meet an audience demand for content that features “culture and talent from the digital world,” said CEO Anjali Sud.  

Former Vimeo GM Rich Bloom has joined Tubi as GM of creator programs and EVP of business development, and he’ll oversee the new program. Bloom has worked at Vimeo for the last five years, building up considerable experience working with digital-first creators and providing them with tools to set up their own subscription-based streamers. 

The first YouTube brands to join Tubi for Creators are Dan and Riya (comedy videos), FunnyMike (pictured, comedy and music), Jubilee (political and social discussion), Kinigra Deon (scripted dramedies), Mythical Entertainment (a.k.a. Rhett & Link, comedy videos) and Watcher (unscripted series). 

Content from these creators generally skews teens and up, but Mythical Entertainment, which runs the Good Mythical Morning channel (19.3 million subscribers), is a more family-friendly brand. Mythical’s Rhett & Link were able to parlay their YouTube success into a toy deal with Hasbro in 2018. 

More than 500 videos are rolling out onto the streamer as part of these initial deals. For the creators involved, Bloom noted that partnerships like these offer a chance to grow their audiences. 

The plan is to expand Tubi for Creators in the coming months, and for Tubi to eventually start funding creators’ productions, according to a release.  

The platform currently has more than 100 million monthly active viewers and is aiming to provide a variety of new content from various sources. Just last week, it teamed up with crowdfunding platform Kickstarter to stream 20 films financed through Kickstarter. 

Tubi already has nearly 300,000 films and TV episodes in its library (as well as 400 originals), and plans to develop, license and acquire more content. 

It does have a kids section, but it primarily features licensed animated and live-action films and series, including episodes from YouTubers Steve and Maggie and Hey Duggee, plus DreamWorks film Rise of the Guardians. When it comes to greenlights for younger-skewing programming, the AVOD seems more focused on the YA audience at the moment. Last month, it ordered three new movies for this demo as part of its plan to reach a “young and diverse” audience.