The State of FAST

Free ad-supported streaming TV has rocketed to popularity in recent years, more than doubling its estimated viewing households in the U.S. between 2020 and 2026. Increased consumer adoption of linear streaming on platforms such as the Roku Channel, Tubi and Pluto TV as well as aggressive investment in the space by TV manufacturers including Samsung have helped turn FAST into a multibillion-dollar industry.

But with growth comes growing pains, and the FAST sector is encountering significant hurdles as it continues to expand. In this Luminate Intelligence report, The State of FAST, free streaming expert Gavin Bridge digs into the biggest challenges and opportunities now facing the industry.

First among these is an “infinite inventory crisis” triggered by the sheer volume of ad slots available on FAST platforms. With more than 1,700 channels spread across the ecosystem, there is far more commercial supply than advertisers can fill, thus depressing ad revenues and creating a genuine economic crisis for the sector.

Those 1,700-plus channels present a generational challenge as well. Younger audiences not raised on cable TV are reluctant to embrace a format that purposefully emulates the legacy format’s scrolling-grid channel layout. FAST was built for an older demographic with the behavioral habit of passive linear viewing; capturing a Gen Z audience requires a radical rethink of not just design but programming.

With exclusive data and insights on FAST audiences, channels and economics, this data-filled report presents not only a diagnosis of the industry’s hurdles but a roadmap to help the once-promising format recapture its true potential.