Fox, Nbcuniversal in talks to buy out streaming platforms

NEWYORK:MEDIA groups Fox Corp and Nbcuniversal are looking to buy ad-supported streaming platforms meant to lure customers who don’t want to spend money on subscriptions, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

Fox, the Murdoch-family controlled media group which owns the Fox News Channel, has said it would be willing to shell out some $500 million for Tubi, a streaming platform which airs mostly older movies and TV shows, the report said. A tie-up could help expand the footprint of Fox, which last year sold much of its film and television assets to Disney but retained its broadcast television network in the deal.

Tubi, sometimes called the “free Netflix”, claims to have 25 million users and recently announced an expansion into

Europe. It already operates in the US, Canada and Australia.

Nbcuniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast, is meanwhile engaged in what the WSJ called advanced talks with Vudu, a Walmartowned, ad-supported service that allows users to rent and buy movies or watch them online via a free streaming platform.

Nbcuniversal already has plans to launch a new streaming television service called Peacock in April, which can be accessed both ad-free or with ads at different payment tiers.

The potential Fox and Nbcuniversal acquisitions come as internet platforms and entertainment groups are launching streaming and on-demand services as part of a larger trend to attract viewers who are veering away from traditional television.

Comcast is already in negotiations with the streaming platform Xumo.