Tubi founder and CEO Farhad Massoudi will depart the company as Fox Corporation restructures the free AVOD platform to form Tubi Media Group, led by the newly promoted Paul Cheesbrough.
Tubi Media Group will house Fox’s standalone digital businesses — including Tubi, Credible and Blockchain Creative Labs — as well as the digital platforms and teams that underpin Fox’s wider digital business in sports, news and entertainment.
“We have incredible momentum across our digital portfolio at FOX and it’s a privilege to lead and oversee this next stage of growth,” Cheesbrough said in a statement. “With a strong foundation to build off, from Tubi’s unrivaled growth in the AVOD space to our record setting 4K streaming operation for Super Bowl LVII, I’m looking forward to working with our talented team to drive this growth for FOX. I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank Farhad for his partnership over the past few years. He’s a true pioneer in the streaming space and saw the opportunity in AVOD long before others. The fact that we’re building this new business around Tubi’s brand and the momentum that the company has achieved is testament to everything that Farhad founded, built and delivered over the years.”
Cheesbrough, who previously served as CTO and president of digital for Fox Corporation, will serve as CEO of the new business unit. As CTO and President of Digital, Cheesbrough oversaw the acquisition and management of Tubi, and he will continue to work out of Los Angeles, reporting to Fox Corporation CEO Lachlan Murdoch.
“Our strategic acquisition of Tubi in 2020 established a cornerstone in our digital streaming strategy, which under Paul and Farhad’s leadership has driven record growth and is now the clear market leader in AVOD in the US,” Murdoch said.
“Building off this momentum, and complementing the strong growth being driven in our company wide digital revenues, now is the right time to bring these efforts together into a new business unit which will be tasked with spearheading our digital expansion and partnering with our brands to drive continued growth.”
Tubi Media Group will announce the new CEO for Tubi Streaming in the near future. Massoudi will remain through the transition period until the end of June.
“It has been an incredible three years since the acquisition of Tubi, leading to its great success within the FOX family,” Massoudi said. “I am grateful to both Lachlan and Paul for their guidance, support, and partnership. I know that I am leaving Tubi in the best shape it has ever been, and its future is very bright.”