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The top FAST services have some of the largest ad-supported audiences in streaming. Only Amazon Prime Video and Hulu will have more ad-supported viewers than the top FAST providers in 2024. But there鈥檚 a wide range of viewership within the ranks of FASTs.

Viewership among its subscribers rose from 7% to 10% in four weeks and consideration for a subscription among WWE fans increased from 49% to 65% since the deal was announced, per YouGov鈥攁 notable win for its ad-supported tier. Shifting audience perception is WWE鈥檚 biggest challenge. While more Netflix users are watching WWE, many still see it as lowbrow entertainment.

Streaming services are offering a multitude of bundles as they try to expand their ad-supported audiences.

Live sports and CNN content will remain free for standard and premium subscribers on Max, though they will be removed from the ad-supported tier on March 30. Traditional TV trails: As streaming thrives, WBD鈥檚 TV networks continue to struggle, reinforcing the broader industry shift away from linear TV. TV network revenues dropped 5% to $4.77 billion, reflecting cord-cutting and a softer ad market.

Verizon is offering customers a Netflix/Max package for $10 per month, further cementing ad-supported tiers as the default entry point for streaming. Comcast and Warner Bros. Discovery鈥檚 new distribution deal underscores the growing importance of bundling and ad-supported streaming.

It would be poorly timed given the proliferation of ad-supported subscription OTT tiers, free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST), and digital pay TV services counting on CTV鈥檚 momentum. But CTV is also well-positioned to ride out 2025鈥檚 instability if the worst-case economic scenario does not come to pass. Click here to view our full forecast for US connected TV ad spending.

This is the first installment of our quarterly 鈥淎d Spending Benchmarks鈥� series, which helps ad buyers and sellers calibrate their spending and revenue mix against the market.

As the TV and streaming landscape becomes increasingly fragmented, the terms used to describe different ways to watch are multiplying. We鈥檝e already broken down the difference between connected TV (CTV) and OTT. With subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) platforms becoming ad-supported SVODs, and ad-supported video on demand (AVOD) platforms building out free ad-supported TV (FAST) platforms, it鈥檚 difficult to keep track of what cord-cutters are actually watching. Here鈥檚 a breakdown.

Super Bowl viewership likely slipped: Taylor and Trump probably weren鈥檛 enough to top last year鈥檚 123.7 million viewers.

In the first 100 days of his second term, President Trump has reshaped business strategy across retail, tech, healthcare, and media. Here鈥檚 how tariffs, regulation, and market volatility are forcing brands to rethink spend, growth, and planning.

In 2024, connected TV (CTV) platforms raced to expand ad-supported content, Google delayed its cookie plans (again), and brands chased insights from social media giants on how to break through to consumers.

OTT video is popular whether it鈥檚 free or paid. Every global region and country we track is engaged with these platforms, some very deeply. But new viewers will be hard to find.

Those prices came down after their ad-supported viewership expanded and more inventory became available in the rest of the market. The lowered prices appeased marketers who complained about high prices being prohibitive. Our CPM KPI forecast is based on broad averages.

While SpinCo may not be a growth engine, it could generate steady cash for years, appealing to investors looking for stable, ad-supported revenue streams. The networks within SpinCo will need to evolve to stay relevant, possibly by integrating more with FAST (free ad-supported TV) platforms, streaming bundles, or live event programming.

With most of the US already watching, growth in overall OTT viewership has slowed to a crawl. But some platforms, formats, and service tiers are still booming, and digital pay TV is complicating the linear TV narrative.

The immense popularity of paid and ad-supported streaming services, like Netflix and YouTube, has accelerated cord-cutting trends and contributed to revenue losses for traditional media providers.