# Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV
> Technology profile in The State of Streaming directory.
- Profile type: Technology
- Profile status: baseline
- Last updated: 2026-05-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Canonical URL: https://thestateofstreaming.com/tech/fast-free-ad-supported-streaming-tv/
- Also known as: FAST, FAST channels, FAST services, free ad-supported television, linear streaming
## Summary
Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV (FAST) services deliver linear, scheduled channel feeds over the open internet at no cost to the viewer, monetized entirely through advertising. By 2026 the category counts more than 1,300 channels in the US, reaches roughly 131 million viewers, and pulls more combined US TV viewing time than any single broadcast network.
## Definition
Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV — almost always shortened to FAST — refers to streaming services that present programming as linear, scheduled channels rather than on-demand libraries, deliver them over the public internet to connected TVs, mobile devices and the web, and charge viewers nothing in exchange for ad-supported playback. A FAST service typically aggregates dozens to thousands of single-genre or single-brand channels (movies, news, classic sitcoms, sports highlights, cooking, music videos) into an electronic program guide that mirrors the cable-TV interface. The model is distinct from AVOD (ad-supported on-demand catalogs such as the Tubi or Peacock library experiences) and from SVOD (subscription services like Netflix or Max); FAST's defining characteristics are the linear scheduled feed, the IP delivery layer, and 100% ad-funded economics with no subscription tier.
## Market size
131.4 million US FAST viewers in 2026 (54% of all US CTV users); global FAST market valued at $12.23 billion in 2026 (as of 2026-01-01). Source: eMarketer — https://www.emarketer.com/content/faq-on-fast--how-free-streaming-tv-reshaping-ad-market-2026

## Key trends

- Sports has become the breakout FAST category — sports-focused FAST channels more than doubled in the past year to roughly 220, with 30% YoY growth in sports shows in Q1 2026 (Gracenote).
- Curation is replacing volume — after years of 'license-anything' channel launches, platforms are pruning catalogs and prioritizing thematic cohesion as advertiser demand fails to keep pace with inventory growth.
- Inventory glut is depressing CPMs — eMarketer notes viewer growth is outpacing advertiser demand, leaving premium FAST inventory widely available and ad fill rates declining.
- Consolidation of FAST under SVOD parents — Amazon retired the Freevee brand in September 2025 and folded its 800+ FAST channels into Prime Video; the standalone FAST app is becoming the exception, not the rule.
- Smart-TV-native FAST (Samsung TV Plus, LG Channels, Vizio WatchFree+, Roku Channel) is consolidating distribution power into device OEMs, who control the home screen and the EPG.


## Major players

- tubi — https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/tubi/
- paramount global — https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/paramount-global/
- roku — https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/roku/
- samsung electronics — https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/samsung-electronics/
- vizio — https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/vizio/
- lg electronics — https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/lg-electronics/
- comcast corporation — https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/comcast-corporation/
- amazon — https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/amazon/
- plex — https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/plex/


## Key facts

- FAST users in the US will reach 131.4 million in 2026, representing 54% of all US CTV users. — eMarketer: https://www.emarketer.com/content/faq-on-fast--how-free-streaming-tv-reshaping-ad-market-2026
- Pluto TV, The Roku Channel and Tubi combined for 5.7% of total US TV viewing in May 2025 — more than any single broadcast network captured individually. — Nielsen: https://www.nielsen.com/news-center/2025/streaming-reaches-historic-tv-milestone-eclipses-combined-broadcast-and-cable-viewing-for-first-time/
- Tubi became the first dedicated FAST service to cross 100 million monthly active users in May 2025, with more than 1 billion monthly streaming hours. — Apprupt / Nielsen: https://www.apprupt.com/fast-channel-viewership-statistics
- More than 1,300 FAST channels are available in the US market as of 2026, with channel count up 21% in 2025. — Adwave: https://adwave.com/resources/fast-channel-count
- Amazon decommissioned the Freevee app on September 3, 2025, migrating 800+ FAST channels into Prime Video. — TechCrunch: https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/02/amazon-is-shutting-down-its-freevee-app-in-august/


## External coverage

- 2026-01-15 — eMarketer: FAQ on FAST: How free streaming TV is reshaping the ad market in 2026 (https://www.emarketer.com/content/faq-on-fast--how-free-streaming-tv-reshaping-ad-market-2026)
- 2025-06-17 — Nielsen: Streaming Reaches Historic TV Milestone, Eclipses Combined Broadcast and Cable Viewing For First Time (https://www.nielsen.com/news-center/2025/streaming-reaches-historic-tv-milestone-eclipses-combined-broadcast-and-cable-viewing-for-first-time/)
- 2024-11-01 — Variety: Amazon Is Shutting Down Freevee, Its Ad-Supported Video Streamer (https://variety.com/2024/digital/news/amazon-freevee-shutting-down-1236208451/)
- 2026-02-01 — Streaming Media: FAST Trend Report 2026 (https://www.streamingmedia.com/PressRelease/FAST-TREND-REPORT-2026_57373.aspx)
- 2026-03-01 — StreamTV Insider: FAST sports channel count grows, live event distribution strategy will differ (https://www.streamtvinsider.com/video/fast-sports-channel-count-grows-live-event-distribution-strategy-will-differ)

## Profile
FAST is the streaming category that finally made the cable bundle's ghost walk again. The original premise was almost a joke — strip out the subscription fee, ditch the on-demand UI, hand the viewer a channel guide and a remote, and let advertising pay the bill. Five years and a recession-trained consumer base later, FAST is the dominant free-television experience in the US: more than half of all connected-TV households touch a FAST service in a given month, and on any given week the combined viewing time of Tubi, Pluto TV and The Roku Channel exceeds that of NBC, CBS or ABC alone.

The competitive map sorts into three tribes. **SVOD-parent FAST services** (Pluto TV under Paramount, Tubi under Fox, the rebadged Prime Video FAST channels under Amazon) treat free, ad-funded linear as a top-of-funnel acquisition layer for the parent's subscription tiers. **Device-OEM FAST services** (Samsung TV Plus, LG Channels, Vizio WatchFree+, The Roku Channel) treat the EPG as the killer app of the smart-TV home screen — distribution leverage flowing from the panel itself. And **independent / white-label FAST players** (Plex, Xumo, Local Now, FAST Channels TV's syndication infrastructure) compete on curation, niche audiences and B2B channel-launch pipelines.

The 2026 dynamic that matters most for buyers is supply-demand inversion. Channel counts blew past 1,300 in the US during 2025, sports-themed FAST inventory more than doubled, and SSAI-stitched ad pods proliferated with them — but advertiser dollars have not kept pace. eMarketer flags ad fill rates declining and premium FAST inventory now widely available at depressed CPMs. The maturation argument is that the next phase is editorial: platforms pruning long-tail license-anything channels, OEMs tightening home-screen real estate, and advertisers learning to buy FAST through curated supply paths rather than the open exchange. The Freevee-into-Prime-Video collapse in September 2025 is the early signal — fewer standalone FAST destinations, more FAST as a programming layer inside larger streaming experiences.

What to watch over the next year: whether sports rights migrate meaningfully into FAST (Scripps Sports Network and a wave of sports-genre channel launches argue yes); whether OEM bargaining power over channel carriage starts to look like cable's old MSO-vs-network leverage; and whether measurement currencies finally treat FAST as a first-class buy rather than a residual line in CTV reporting.

## Tags

- FAST
- linear streaming
- ad-supported
- free TV
- CTV
- streaming
- EPG
- advertising

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