According to Horowitz Research’s most recent annual report, State of Media, Entertainment, and Tech: Viewing Behaviors 2024, two out of every three (66%) TV content watchers in the United States use free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) platforms on a monthly basis.
Tubi, Pluto TV, Freevee, YouTube, and Roku are the most popular FAST networks among consumers polled in the study.
The new research, which examines the expansion of pay and free TV, streaming, internet, and mobile environments, demonstrates how the emergence of FAST services affected the TV ecosystem. On the one hand, more than half (53%) of FAST customers report that they have reduced their use of paid streaming services since adopting FAST. On the other side, 43% of FAST users report that they have joined to a pay service in order to continue watching a show they began viewing on a FAST channel. These findings highlight the significant opportunity to strategically use FAST, including smart windowing and content marketing tactics.
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According to Horowitz’s research, consumers who cut the cord and relied solely on on-demand streaming options missed out on the lean-back experience of channel browsing. More than seven in ten (73%) FAST users feel that being able to flip on these free services and watch whatever they choose makes TV more pleasurable. Specifically, 58% of cord-cutters who no longer have a cable or satellite subscription feel free alternatives are equivalent to having cable TV again.
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“As the FAST space matures, it does feel like a correction of many of the issues that on-demand streaming created for both consumers and the industry,” observes Adriana Waterston, EVP and Insights & Strategy Lead for Horowitz Research, a part of M/A/R/C Research. “On the consumer side, FAST is assisting in mitigating the challenges of TV viewing in the on-demand space, where consumers had to work hard to find content to watch every time they sat down in front of the TV—not the most relaxing viewing experience.” It is also offering potential to create both ad money and syndication revenue, which will help to restore the business model’s equilibrium.
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