TUBI BECOMES EXCLUSIVE HOME TO ALL 15 SEASONS OF THE APPRENTICE FRANCHISE IN UNPRECEDENTED CONTENT DEAL WITH MGM TELEVISION
Franchise further builds on Tubi’s accelerated content growth strategy on the heels of recently-announced Bachelor franchise to its reality television library
The Apprentice and The Celebrity Apprentice are now available exclusively to Tubi customers completely free
SAN FRANCISCO, May 6, 2019 – Tubi (www.tubi.tv), the world’s largest ad-supported video on demand (VOD) service today announced it has entered a content partnership deal with MGM Television to become the exclusive home for all 15 seasons of The Apprentice franchise. Hosted initially by Donald Trump, then Arnold Schwarzenegger, fans of the franchise will relive moments from such recognizable competitors as Omarosa, Bill Rancic, Piers Morgan, Bret Michaels, Arsenio Hall, Trace Adkins, Leeza Gibbons, Khloe Kardashian, Cyndi Lauper, Lil Jon, Vivica A. Fox, and Geraldo Rivera as they proved their entrepreneurial savvy and business acumen. Starting today, Tubi customers will be able to easily access all seasons of The Apprentice franchise from one of the world’s leading content libraries – completely free.
“In our quest to democratize content and make more premium content accessible, we are making a big push into the reality television space,” said Farhad Massoudi, CEO, Tubi. “The Apprentice is our second big series announcement this month, and we will have more in the near future.”
“We appreciate our partnership with Tubi, and we are excited to share our content with their audience,” said Chris Ottinger, President, Worldwide Television Distribution and Acquisitions, MGM.
The debut season of The Apprentice premiered on NBC in 2004, delivering an average weekly viewership of 20.7 million, and was one of the network’s most-watched series with adults 18-49. The Apprentice and The Celebrity Apprentice was hosted by Trump in its first 14 seasons, with the 15th season hosted by Arnold Schwarzenegger. The series franchise has broadened globally with over 20 local versions.
Tubi continues to expand its already massive content library which presently contains more than 12,000 movies and television series – and expects to grow it at an even greater accelerated pace throughout the year. The company’s content volume is more than double in size to Netflix – approximately 40,000 hours of content. Tubi consistently ranks as one of the most watched apps on the world’s largest platforms including Amazon’s Fire TV, Roku iOS, Android, and many others.
Tubi recently announced record growth in 2018, with 4.3 times the amount of content on the service over the previous year – and in December 2018, customers streamed nearly as much content as all of 2017. The company also announced plans to reinvest profits of over nine figures into content acquisitions in 2019 to rapidly grow its already large catalog.
About Tubi
Headquartered in San Francisco, Tubi (www.tubi.tv) is the world’s largest ad-supported video on demand service with over 12,000 movies and television shows from nearly every major Hollywood studio. The service gives fans of films and television programs an easy way to discover new content which is available completely free. Currently available in the US and Canada, Tubi can be accessed through a large number of devices and apps including Samsung televisions, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Comcast’s X1, iOS, and Android. A full list of devices can be found here: https://tubitv.com/static/devices. Tubi is backed by Foundation Capital, Cota Capital, Jump Capital, and Danhua Capital, as well as strategic investors MGM, Lionsgate, and TEGNA Ventures.
About MGM Television
MGM Television is an award-winning, leading producer and global distributor of premium content for television and digital platforms. In addition, MGM Television has distribution rights to original productions and a robust catalogue of television episodes and feature film titles including premiere entertainment franchises such as, James Bond, Rocky, Stargate and The Hobbit trilogy. Current unscripted projects include, The Voice (NBC); Survivor (CBS); Shark Tank (ABC); Beat Shazam (FOX); TKO: Total Knock Out (CBS); the upcoming series Eco-Challenge for Amazon; and through its distribution entity, Orion TV Productions, the syndicated daytime courtroom series, Lauren Lake’s Paternity Court and Couples Court with The Cutlers. In addition, MGM owns Evolution Media, producers of The Real Housewives of Orange County, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Vanderpump Rules, Botched (E!), and the upcoming series The Hills: New Beginnings; and Big Fish Entertainment, producers of the Live PD franchise (A&E, Lifetime), the Black Ink Crew franchisefor VH1, Hustle & Soul (WE tv), Love & Hip Hop Hollywood (VH1), How Far is Tattoo Far (MTV) and the upcoming series Live Rescue on A&E. Current scripted projected include The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu); the upcoming Four Weddings and a Funeral (Hulu); the upcoming modern noir drama series Perpetual Grace LTD (EPIX), Fargo (FX); Vikings (HISTORY); Get Shorty (EPIX); Condor (AT&T AUDIENCE Network); MGM’s television programming regularly airs in more than 100 countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.mgm.com.
# # #
Contacts:
Peter Binazeski
Head of Communications
Tubi
pbinazeski@tubi.tv
George Cabico / Mary Hong
The Lippin Group for Tubi
gcabico@lippingroup.com / mhong@lippingroup.com
