In 2020, people’s reliance on video for communication and entertainment skyrocketed due to the pandemic. Companies from all areas of the spectrum—livestreaming, video communication, shopping, as well as TV and movie platforms—all found ways not only to exploit this growing demand, but lean into it in ways that improved its users quality of life in new and unexpected ways. 1. Apple For proving that the streaming race is a marathon not a sprint The company’s, $5.99-a-month streaming service, Apple TV Plus , was slow out of the gate when it launched in late 2019. But in 2020 it picked up speed, launching an aggressive, event film strategy with Greyhound , the Tom Hanks WWII film that it bought from Sony and turned into summer water-cooler chatter. On the TV side, the company got past its initial stage of shows with glossy sheens that didn’t ultimately deliver and moved into a much more satisfying era of truly original-feeling shows like Ted Lasso and the Israeli thriller Tehran . Strong word of mouth and critical acclaim for these and other titles helped the service reportedly grow to about 35 million subscribers and nab eight Emmy nominations. The streamer took home one for Billy Crudup’s performance in The Morning Show , the flagship series when Apple TV Plus launched, but now a footnote in the streamer’s well-stocked portfolio. 2. Tubi For giving viewers the Netflix experience for free In response to Black Lives Matter, Tubi created a vertical called United Against Inequality showcasing movies and TV shows from the free, ad-supported streaming service’s library of 23,000 titles. None of them were Tubi originals—there’s no such thing—but the move showed how Tubi cleverly curates content from its vast library in order to draw users, which now number 33 million. In 2020 the company was acquired by Fox Corp. for $440 million, giving Tubi access to yet more content and ammunition with advertisers. This combined fire power, along with Tubi’s new, Advanced Frequency Management tool, which lessens ad repetition and improves frequency management of commercials, solved one of the biggest problems with ad-supported streaming and has helped make Tubi the streaming service you most need. Read More …
