• by Alex Weprin , May 6, 2019

“The Apprentice” is returning to TV screens, thanks to a streaming -ights deal between the Tubi and MGM Television.

All 15 seasons of the NBC show, including the original series and “Celebrity Apprentice” spinoff hosted by Donald Trump, and the season hosted by Arnold Schwarzenegger, will be available to stream for free on Tubi.

It’s the first time the reality show that put Donald Trump on the TV map has been available to stream for free.

Tubi CEO Farhad Massoud says that with the addition of “The Apprentice,” “we are making a big push into the reality television space.”

He adds the company will have additional programming announcements “in the near future.”

The company has, in recent months, secured rights to classic TV shows such as “Xena: Warrior Princess, “The A-Team,” and “Quantum Leap,” as well as partial rerun rights to the “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette.” It also secured the streaming rights to all 100 episodes of the Charlie Sheen sitcom “Anger Management.”

Tubi is one of a handful of free, ad-supported streaming services aiming to become part of the media diet of consumers, living alongside premium subscription offerings.

One of Tubi’s competitors, Pluto TV, was acquired by Viacom earlier this year in a deal valued at $340 million. Viacom is using its own content library to try and bolster Pluto’s offerings. 

The thinking: As consumers decide which services they want to pay for, they will supplement those offerings with free, ad-supported options.