Streamer Tubi has pacted with Kickstarter to offer distribution opportunities for 20 or more producers who are tapping the crowdfunding platform to support independent filmmaking.
As part of the partnership, Tubi will invest in Kickstarter’s newly launched FilmStream Collective Fund, which distributes money to filmmakers active on the platform to help complete films. The effort is a sign of Fox-owned Tubi’s efforts to boost its profile in among content creators as a source of distribution and promotion for their projects. The plan is to assemble a library of 20 or possibly more films that have generated strong fan engagement on Kickstarter as a curated indie film package available exclusively on Tubi, the ad-supported streamer that reaches 97 million monthly active users.
The agreement was unveiled Thursday by Anjali Sud, CEO of Tubi, and Everette Taylor, chief executive of Kickstarter.
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“Weʼre excited to bring Kickstarter creatives and the communities who support them to our audience of nearly 100 million viewers,ˮ Sud said. “Tubi is becoming the home for the next generation of Hollywood talent. Whether weʼre bringing crowdfunded films onto the platform, turning a Wattpad novel into a movie or putting the power to green-light in the hands of the fans — we are expanding the pathways for creators to grow their audience and adding greater diversity and differentiation to our content offering.ˮ
For Kickstarter, the deal is also an effort to add dimension to the funding, data and fan engagement services that it offers users. The FilmStream Collective Fund is “designed to support final or near-final projects, helping cover critical post-production costs such as editing, sound, marketing, and other finishing expenses,” Kickstarter said in a blog post. Tubi and Kickstarter are touting the chance to offer filmmakers “guaranteed distribution of their film and visibility on a platform where viewers watched more than 10 billion hours in 2024.”
To be considered for support from the fund, “creators must launch a Kickstarter campaign between now and August 31, 2025,” Kickstarter said.
In March, Kickstarter also named a new executive liaison to professional filmmakers, Taylor K. Shaw. Shaw has been on the festival circuit talking up the company’s expanded capabilities.
“Our mission has always been to help people bring their creative projects to life,ˮ Taylor said. “Fulfilling that mission means reaching beyond our core crowdfunding service finding aligned partners like Tubi who want to collaborate on reducing the barriers that stand in the way of creatives bringing
their ideas to life. Together, weʼre building a new opportunity for filmmakers to share their work with global audiences and get the visibility they deserve.ˮ
Tubi will invest an unspecified amount in Kickstarter’s FilmStream Collective Fund, which is available to films that are crowd funding via the platform. Tubi and Kickstarter will “pledge directly” to 10 campaigns for movies in need of completion funds. Those movies will be available on Tubi exclusively for the first three months in release. Producers of movies selected for the Kickstarter-curated library on Tubi will share in the advertising revenue generated by viewership of their title.
(Pictured: Kickstarter CEO Everette Taylor and Tubi CEO Anjali Sud)