This past February it was rumored that Bob Iger was considering allowing shows and films under the ‘Disney Umbrella’ (Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and 20th Century Studios) to appear on rival streaming platforms. The list of possible outlets included the likes of AppleTV+, Amazon Prime, YouTube TV and of course Tubi TV.
Well, it now appears that those rumors have some sort of truth to them as right now under the “Recently Added” section multiple Disney and 20th Century Studios films are now on the platform.Â
The list is rather short and features some rather forgettable films. From the Disney side we have 1997’s RocketMan, 2002’s Snow Dogs and 2006’s Eight Below and the only 20th Century Studios film is the 1998 remake of Dr. Dolittle with Eddie Murphy. One other Disney-related program is also listed and it’s the 2010 seven episode series Disney Parks.
For those who aren’t in the know, Tubi TV is a free streaming service that features hundreds of shows and films with advertisements sprinkled throughout. Think “On Demand Television” but free of charge. In 2020 Tubi was purchased by the Fox Corporation for $440 Million after selling off its film and television division to Disney the previous year for $71.3 Billion. 
In a way Fox bought Tubi TV with a fraction of their Disney money. Since then Fox has had offers to buy Tubi TV from them, some reaching $2 Billion. But Fox has turned them all down and currently seems to see no benefit in selling off their service.
Now years after the Fox buyout, Disney is seemingly asking Fox Corporation for a slice of their pie. It all feels somewhat ironic. Even though the current selection is only obscure/forgotten films there may be a point where more recognizable properties appear as well. Only time will tell.
Aside from Disney/Fox Tubi also features multiple films and shows from Warner Bros. Discovery, NBCUniversal, SONY and Paramount. Despite all these major corporations either owning their own streaming services or being affiliated with a specific streaming service they all see some kind of benefit in letting platforms like Tubi feature their content. Perhaps at some point, they might air on Netflix again.
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