Tubi bets on ‘newstalgia’ and fandoms to win Aussie viewers - and brand dollars

Streaming once promised the future. Now it’s being shaped by the past. That’s the view of Tubi’s international boss David Salmon, who’s leading the platform’s Australian expansion with a refreshing hot take: that the most valuable content today is old, the most loyal audiences are niche and marketers need to start thinking in terms of emotional depth, not launch cycles.

With nearly 100 million monthly users globally, the free ad-supported streaming service, owned by Fox Corporation, is betting on a few powerful forces to win viewers and budgets: deep fandoms, free choice and the emotional pull of nostalgia. Salmon calls it “newstalgia” and says it’s reshaping not just what people watch, but how marketers should think about attention and time.

“Only one of the top 10 most-watched shows globally is under 10 years old,” he said during a Sydney to visit this week. “Six are more than 20 years old. Friends is over 30. But these shows still dominate. That should tell us something.”

While premium streamers like Netflix and Binge chase the latest tentpole hits, Tubi is building its pitch on the power of comfort viewing and fandom rabbit holes. It's not just an American quirk - Salmon believes Australia is ripe for the same media shift already happening in the US, where streaming now accounts for the majority of total TV viewing.

“We’re seeing consumers, especially Gen Z, fall in love with older shows. For them, it’s discovery. For others, it’s comfort. Either way, there’s huge emotional intensity there. And that’s a space brands should want to be.”

Tubi’s Australian moment

Tubi has quietly operated in Australia for some time, but the next six to 12 months will see a full-scale local push. The platform plans to drop a series of new box sets, expand its licensed studio titles and bring over more of its successful Tubi Originals - starting with teen-targeted hits like Sidelined: The QB and Me based starring TikTok influencer Noah Beck.

It’s a long-tail strategy in a short-term ad market - and one that depends on personalisation and smart integration with News Corp’s first-party data engine, Intent Connect, which claims access to 12 million Australians each month.

The aim? Make advertising feel native to the streaming experience, not tacked on.

“We’ve spent years building ad formats that don’t interrupt. No full-screen takeovers, no hammering people with the same ad. It’s about integrated CTV that feels seamless for viewers and brands.”

Salmon argues that the old broadcast playbook of time-bound programming, mass appeal content and short campaign windows simply doesn’t apply anymore.

“People don’t watch what you want, when you want. They watch what they want, when they want. That changes everything,” he says.

His advice to CMOs - prioritise relevance over reach, avoid time-sensitive campaigns that assume synchronous viewing and embrace niche audiences with passionate fandoms.

Tubi’s data shows that “fragmentation of fandoms” or the move away from mass media toward passionate, vertical content communities - is accelerating. From sneaker culture to true crime obsession, today’s viewer doesn’t browse, they tunnel. And they expect personalisation to be part of the experience. It’s media as lifestyle, not appointment.

Nostalgia as brand strategy

For marketers, Salmon argues the implications are clear: if you’re still investing all your media dollars into the latest shiny thing, you may be missing the actual attention drivers.

He adds that streaming behaviour is beginning to mirror music consumption - where classics endure and recency means little. Just as The Beatles or Nirvana continue to dominate playlists, so too do The Office, Friends, and Grey’s Anatomy top global streaming charts.

This opens the door for brands to attach themselves to proven emotional triggers. Salmon says the “cultural fluency” of old shows, shared references, comfort, and discovery - all fertile ground for brand storytelling.

“There’s no shame in comfort content,” he added. “And there’s a massive opportunity in being part of the moments people already love.”