Gracenote, the content data business unit of Nielsen, has released a new report providing data and insights on the changing state of free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) for distribution platforms and advertisers seeking to monetise consumer engagement with FAST programming.
According to the report, which is based on data from Gracenote’s own database, the number of active FAST channels in key markets including the U.S., UK, Germany and Canada have nearly doubled since mid-2023 to more than 1,610 today. Nearly three-fourths of the available FAST channels are in the U.S., the leading FAST market. Collectively, more than 178,000 unique programmes, episodes and movies are available on FAST channels.
A notable finding is that FAST channel content is no longer an archive of old content, with more than 70% of it produced since 2010.
Meanwhile, sports, reality and news/commentary programming make up the top three genres in FAST. Reality is the fastest-growing FAST channel genre with an increase of 626% from 19 to 138 channels since July 2024. The number of sports channels on FAST has more than doubled in the last year to 220 today.
Entertainment is the most common FAST channel genre, accounting for 303 channels. Gracenote defines the entertainment genre as TV programmes that are presented in a non-story-based format and usually filmed live in a studio.
Tim Cutting, Chief Revenue Officer at Gracenote, said: “FAST is in many ways a unique service, but its lifeblood is still content. So, programme-level metadata providing understanding of FAST content is more important than ever to audience engagement and advertising initiatives.”
The 2025 Gracenote FAST report is available for free here.
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