Providing Market Intelligence for 40 Years

In The News

Competitive Info: FAST Channels Gain As Traditional TV Declines, Parks Finds.

Traditional television continues to lose viewers to free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) services, according to new research from Parks Associates.

The research firm’s quarterly surveys of 8,000 U.S. internet households found that 46% of U.S. internet households regularly use FAST platforms to watch long-form video content.

“FAST services are no longer a secondary viewing option — they are a central part of the streaming landscape,” said Michael Goodman, director of entertainment research at Parks Associates. “The gap between leaders like Tubi and the rest of the market underscores the importance of content breadth, distribution partnerships, and user experience in driving viewer engagement.”

A new study released Wednesday by Parks Associates identified Tubi, The Roku Channel and Pluto TV as the top three FAST services in the U.S. Research compiled through the company’s Streaming Video Tracker found that Tubi “significantly outpaced competitors and reinforced its dominant position in the rapidly expanding FAST ecosystem.”

Parks Associates noted that Tubi has achieved that position even though 95% of its programming is available on demand through its ad-supported video-on-demand model.

The report said the growth of FAST services reflects a broader industry shift as consumers increasingly seek free, ad-supported alternatives amid rising subscription costs and streaming fatigue.

Other FAST platforms showing audience growth include Samsung TV Plus and XUMO Play, according to Parks’ latest rankings.

Parks Associates said advertisers are increasingly following audiences into FAST environments, positioning the sector for continued expansion through 2026 and beyond.

From the Inside Radio article, "Competitive Info: FAST Channels Gain As Traditional TV Declines, Parks Finds."

Previously In The News

Why your Rokus and Fire TVs are missing those big, new streaming apps

Most people assume all the big streaming services will be at the ready to download and watch on their streaming device. And up until this year, that was fairly true. People who bought a Roku or an Ama...

Disney's 3 streaming services jumped into the US top 5, researcher says

Disney's bumper launch of Disney Plus in the last year has helped all three of the company's streaming services -- Hulu, Disney Plus and ESPN Plus -- to rank in the top-five most popular US streaming-...

CNET's Next Big Thing: Will our homes remain our headquarters?

To pick apart where at-home behavior works and where it doesn't, I assembled three of the smartest people in tech to sort this out in CNET's Next Big Thing presentation at CES 2021: Jennifer Kent, sen...

CES 2021 continues today. Here's how to watch CNET's Day 2 livestream from home

Brian Cooley will look at whether technology can make the case that we keep doing almost everything from home. He'll talk with Jennifer Kent, senior director at Parks Associates; Paul Lee, global head...