Tubi hired Mike Bidgoli, a six-year veteran of internet giant meta, as chief product and technology officer for the Fox-owned free streaming service.
Bidgoli, who reports to CEO Anjali Sud, will be responsible for leading the product and engineering teams overseeing the product experience and innovation strategy for Tubi. Marios Assiotis, who previously served as Tubi’s CTO, earlier this year moved over to Adrise, the audience network and ad tech platform that Fox acquired as part of the Tubi deal in 2020. Meanwhile, Michael Ahiakpor, formerly Tubi’s chief product officer, said he left the company in April after 11 years with the company “to focus on my health and happiness.”
Bidgoli most recently served as head of product for new monetization experiences at meta, where he was responsible for the company’s subscription strategy and ad products including meta Verified. Prior to that, he led development of video products at Facebook, including Facebook Watch and Facebook Live. Prior to joining meta (then Facebook) in 2018, he worked at Pinterest as ads product lead, helping build and scale the company’s advertising platform.
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“We’re excited to keep innovating in providing personalized viewing experiences with the world’s largest library of free movies and TV shows, and to enable our advertisers to more authentically connect with the cordless generation,” Sud said in announcing Bidgoli’s hire. “Mike’s extensive experience is the perfect match for our ambitions, and we look forward to his impact in defining the next era of entertainment.”
Bidgoli commented, “I have had a front-row seat to the rise of Tubi and the category creation of free, advertising-supported television over the years. Tubi is uniquely positioned to continue to innovate in this space and expand the category, especially given its commitment to an industry-leading tech platform, content library and recommendation engine. I am extremely excited to fuel and accelerate this next chapter of the company’s evolution.”
Earlier this year, Tubi introduced a new logo and sonic brand ID (a la Netflix’s “tudum”) as it is looking to launch into more international markets. The streamer also released a new originals programming slate targeted to Gen Z audiences, featuring series “Boarders,” “Big Mood” and “Dead Hot.” Most recently, Tubi announced its first in-house, live action series “The Z-Suite,” starring and executive produced by Lauren Graham.
The company also launched Stubios, which it touts as the first “fan-fueled” content studio in streaming, tapping Issa Rae to mentor creatives selected for the program.
