• by Colin Kirkland , Yesterday

TikTok and Tubi have announced a “Creatorverse Incubator” partnership designed to promote original shows made by TikTok creators on the free streaming service.

Per the partnership, TikTok will help identify creators to develop original Tubi series across a variety of genres, including scripted and unscripted formats. According to both companies, creative direction will be shaped by the TikTok creator with oversight from Tubi.

Later this summer, Tubi will announce an initial cohort of creators participating in the program, and TikTok will leverage its Spotlight feature -- a promotional tool built for the entertainment industry -- to drive fan conversation around the upcoming creator-made shows.

Over the past year, Tubi has begun onboarding creator-made series, with over 16,000 episodes made by roughly 200 creators available to the platform's 100 million monthly active users.

Tubi's Executive Vice President of business development and general manager of creator programs Rich Bloom said in a statement that the company is attempting to give social media creators a “bridge from digital platforms to premium long-form storytelling.”

According to Bloom, Tubi is interested in working with TikTok creators who seem creatively ready to expand their social-first content. In doing so, Bloom hopes creators’ audiences will follow them over to the streaming service.

Over the years, Tubi has become a mainstay for outsider films and creator-made content.

Prior to its Creatorverse Incubator with TikTok, the streaming service signed deals with creators touting massive audiences including MrBeast, Alan’s Universe, Jomboy Media, and CelinaSpookyBoo.

In October, Tubi made a deal with comedian and actor Kevin Hart's production studio Hartbeat, featuring four films made by leading YouTube creators.