Bell Media has inked a long-term strategic partnership with Fox-owned AVOD service Tubi covering Canadian ad sales as well as content development and distribution.

As part of the arrangement, announced Thursday (Oct. 23), Tubi will include Canadian titles from Bell Media’s on-demand catalogue as well as its suite of FAST channels on the platform in Canada.

In addition, the agreement includes plans for Bell Media to co-develop original content for distribution on Tubi globally. Titles developed through the pact will also be distributed across Bell Media platforms in Canada as well as via distribution outfit Sphere Abacus, which Bell Media acquired a majority stake in earlier this year.

Bell Media will also become the exclusive ad sales partner for Tubi in Canada, combining the former’s established sales network with the free streamer’s rapidly expanding presence in the country. According to a release, Tubi now reaches one in three Canadians over the age of 18, with over half that audience skewing younger.

The new deal builds on the previously established licensing and distribution agreement between Bell Media and Fox Entertainment Global signed in fall 2023.

“Bringing Bell Media and Tubi together is a powerful growth partnership that furthers many of Bell Media’s key areas of focus: increasing opportunities for advertisers to reach Canadian consumers alongside premium digital video, expanding digital distribution for our content, and collaborating with strategic partners on globally resonant storytelling,” said Bell Media president Sean Cohan (pictured left) in a statement.

Added Tubi CEO Anjali Sud (pictured right): “This partnership is a win for Canadians, extending Bell Media’s iconic brands to Tubi’s highly engaged audience and giving advertisers access to viewers they can’t otherwise reach.”

Sean Cohan photo courtesy of Bell Media. Anjali Sud photo courtesy of Tubi.