"Here's the chart that confirmed this conclusion for me. It's from Hub Entertainment Research, and you may need to squint to see the standout stat. From a survey of 1,600 people in the U.S., 15 percent said that if they could only keep one streaming service, they would choose a FAST service over Netflix or Disney+ or HBO Max or even freaking YouTube. That's crazy to me. And it's not the only recent signal of how significant these FAST services have become."
"Again, the top-shelf streaming services are dominating the market, as you might expect. But look at how two FAST services - Fox's Tubi and Roku's The Roku Channel - secured a higher share of watch time on TV screens in August 2025 than NBCUniversal's Peacock, not to mention Warner Bros. Discovery's HBO Max and Discovery+ combined. And that's been true all year. Now, Tubi and The Roku Channel also exceed the combined share of Paramount's streaming properties, which includes Pluto TV and that suggests not all FAST services are doing swimmingly. But still. (And that's not even considering that YouTube is technically a FAST service and the dominant streaming service overall.)"
Free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels have become established parts of the streaming ecosystem, attracting meaningful consumer preference and viewing time. A Hub Entertainment Research survey of 1,600 U.S. consumers found 15 percent would keep a FAST service if restricted to one streaming subscription. Nielsen's August 2025 Gauge shows Fox's Tubi and Roku's The Roku Channel earned higher TV-screen watch-time share than NBCUniversal's Peacock and surpassed Warner Bros. Discovery's HBO Max and Discovery+ combined. Tubi and The Roku Channel also outperformed Paramount's combined streaming properties, indicating uneven performance across FAST offerings. YouTube functions as a dominant FAST-like service overall.
Read at Digiday
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