Tubi TV, an ad-supported, free movie and television service, is reportedly looking to raise approximately $150 million in a new round of funding, The Information reports. If they are able to get the money, this round will by far be the largest round raised by Tubi to date. Part of the funding will reportedly be used to buy out some of the company’s existing investors.
In the past, Tubi has raised $35 million from investors such as MGM, Lions Gate Entertainment and several venture capital firms. Earlier this year the service arranged a $25 million credit facility with Silicon Valley Bank, according to The Information.
Since the launch of the Tubi app in 2014, the platform has shown a steady amount of growth. Back in February, Tubi inked a deal with NBCUniversal and brought shows such as Xena:Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys to the service. In May, the service cut an exclusive deal with Lionsgate to bring all 100 episodes of the comedy Anger Management to its customers for free. Then in June, Tubi announced it surpassed 20 million monthly active users, beating out competitor Pluto TV, which announced that it reached 16 million active users in May.
Tubi also expanded internationally, launching in Australia on Sept. 1. The service had an initial offering of nearly 7,000 movies and television series. At launch, streamers were able to watch 3:10 to Yuma, The Blair Witch Project, Kickboxer, and Stranger Than Fiction. Tubi planned to roll out films like Dirty Dancing, The Grudge, Requiem for a Dream, Reservoir Dogs, Saw, Traffic and Young Guns in the upcoming months.