Tubi Doubles Down on Horror with Black List Screenplay Deal, Riding 100M-Hour Streaming Surge

Tubi is putting its money where its mouth is in the horror space. The Fox-owned AVOD platform just expanded its partnership with the Black List to acquire and produce an original horror screenplay, with submissions opening March 1, 2026, through June 30, 2026.

The move capitalizes on Tubi's unexpected horror dominance which began with last October's "Terror on Tubi" month driving more than 100,000,000 hours watched, a 51% jump year-over-year. "Horror is one of the most-watched genres on Tubi, offering a vast creative playground with a deeply passionate fanbase that continues to grow," said Adam Lewinson, Tubi's Chief Content Officer.

The supply play

With over 100M+ monthly active users and a massive content library, Tubi is essentially guaranteeing an audience for whatever script wins. The Black List will executive produce and shepherd the project, while Tubi is sweetening the deal with 100 fee waivers (one evaluation plus a month of hosting) for 100 writers.

Why this matters

Streaming TV apps live and die by genre engagement, and horror punches above its weight in both viewership hours and loyal fandom. By creating a direct pipeline from script discovery to production and distribution, Tubi is locking in exclusive content while signaling to writers that the platform takes original storytelling seriously. "We’ve seen again and again that when a smart, character-driven horror script meets the right partners, the results can be seismic," Black List founder Franklin Leonard said.

If Tubi keeps mining horror the way it's been mining FAST, expect more genre-specific initiatives to follow.