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FAST platforms like Roku, Tubi, and Pluto TV are gaining buzz from viewers and industry professionals alike. Find out more about the FAST landscape.

The Roku Channel also grew 9%, capturing 2.1% of TV viewership. Sports enters the chat: Unsurprisingly, sporting events were a major attention-grabber in January. The NFL AFC Championship game drew January's largest audience with 57.4 million viewers, followed by the NFC Championship at 44.2 million viewers.

The US ad market grew for the first time in 11 months this May, according to Standard Media鈥檚 US Ad Market Tracker. Now the question is if expansion can continue. June and the start of July brought a host of ad updates that could help continued growth, including ad tools enhancements from Google and Microsoft, retail media opportunities from Roku and Uber, and more. Here鈥檚 a breakdown of what鈥檚 new.

Smart TVs are used by 61.9% of US connected TV (CTV) households, making them the top CTV device by far, per Comscore CTV Intelligence. In second and third place are Amazon Fire TV (29.1%) and Roku (28.4%), respectively.

Walmart Connect is teaming up with NBCU to power ads in sports livestreams: The partnership is part of Walmart Connect鈥檚 growing CTV ambitions, which includes an expanded deal with Roku.

Free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) services like The Roku Channel, Tubi, and Pluto TV will bring in tens of millions of viewers this year, though time spent with the platforms isn鈥檛 comparable to that of Netflix or YouTube, according to our forecast. Still, marketers should keep an eye on these streaming services, especially those with parent companies like Paramount or Fox that may be able to spin free viewers into paid members.

Hulu was the star of upfront streaming spend in iSpot.tv鈥檚 March survey, with 74% of brands and advertisers saying they were allocating spend to the platform. YouTube TV also had a huge showing, with almost half (48%) of respondents saying they were assigning spend to it. Peacock, Roku, and Paramount+ rounded out the top five.

On today's episode, we introduce you to the FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) services (e.g., Tubi, The Roku Channel, and Pluto TV), explain how they became so popular, and look ahead to see what their ceiling is. "In Other News," we talk about whether the advertising space is on the mend and how significant of an ad player Microsoft is. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Ross Benes and director of Briefings Jeremy Goldman.

Walmart is launching its first shoppable video series: The first episodes of the holiday-themed 鈥淎dd to Heart鈥� will be available on Roku, TikTok, and YouTube beginning on Dec. 2.

Free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) services represent the fastest-growing video format, with platforms like Tubi, Roku Channel, and Samsung TV Plus gaining significant traction. The average adult now spends about 19 minutes (0:19) daily with FAST services in the US鈥攏early double the time spent in 2021, according to our January forecast.

Publicis has teamed up with Roku, NBCUniversal, and The GIST to create new programming, such as 鈥淲omen鈥檚 Sports Now,鈥� a weekly talk show covering the space. Why it matters: Women鈥檚 sports are experiencing unprecedented growth, yet advertisers have struggled to invest at scale due to fragmented media rights and distribution channels.

Smaller but also notable gaps for Roku and Pluto TV make ad-supported video streaming services essential for advertising campaigns. Messaging on these platforms should be inclusive and culturally resonant. Brands should invest in Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Partner with Black influencers to ensure authentic connection and understanding.

Instacart launched shoppable ad formats on YouTube and Roku, expanding its off-site advertising offerings. Albertsons Companies鈥� retail media network (RMN) launched 鈥淐ollective TV,鈥� expanding its CTV ad offering, which includes a shoppable ad product for YouTube and other platforms. Combining premium video, RMN data, and frictionless checkout holds substantial potential.

Instacart launched shoppable ad formats on YouTube and Roku, expanding its off-site advertising offerings. Albertsons Companies鈥� retail media network (RMN) launched 鈥淐ollective TV,鈥� expanding its CTV ad offering, which includes a shoppable ad product for YouTube and other platforms. Combining premium video, RMN data, and frictionless checkout holds substantial potential.

This screen commands the heaviest share of viewer engagement and is addressable via multiple ad channels: linear or live TV spots; ad-supported video-on-demand services such as Netflix, YouTube, and a host of others; and free ad-supported streaming TV (aka FAST channels), including Pluto TV, Tubi, Rakuten, and Roku. Influencers are a key channel for targeting Gen Z.

It won tie-ups with NBCUniversal, Roku, and StockX during the quarter. Fastlane is growing PayPal鈥檚 user base: 75% of Fastlane consumers are new or dormant PayPal users. PayPal rolled out the PayPal Everywhere campaign in late Q3 to boost in-store volume. It revamped the PayPal Debit Card鈥檚 rewards and made it compatible with Apple Pay.

The 鈥凌辞办耻 Sports Experience鈥� is the platform鈥檚 fastest-growing feature. Roku said a recently launched AI-powered recommendations feature significantly increased ad impressions. The Roku Channel was the No. 3 app on the platform in Q2, with viewership up 75% YoY.

UID has already scored major partnerships with companies like Spotify and Roku that could help fuel adoption. TTD also wants to close its proposed acquisition of metadata firm Sincera in Q1, strengthening its demand-side platform with more robust data as competitors try to capitalize on the industry鈥檚 growing signal loss.

And for any TV that is a Roku TV, it already has a built-in Roku channel. So that's immediately getting a lot of new viewers, but we're seeing it really take off. (13:52):. This year among the adult population, FAST viewership among adults is going to be 19, 20 minutes, which is double that of 2021. And so in just a few years' time spent on these platforms, it skyrocketed.

The Roku Channel features Sunday morning MLB games. Sports broadcasts on linear TV networks are streamable through digital pay TV services like Hulu with Live TV and YouTube TV. Paramount+, Peacock, and Max also simulcast CBS, NBC, and TNT/TBS/truTV live events, respectively. YouTube TV is home to NFL Sunday Ticket. ESPN is launching a flagship streaming service in fall 2025.

Roku joined a number of venture capital firms in the funding round. Why this matters: tvScientific鈥檚 platform for ad targeting and measurement includes partners across some of the most-viewed streaming services and TV networks, including Hulu and NBCUniversal, and has already attracted brands like Electronic Arts and Foot Locker.

Retailers鈥� success will depend on whether they own the CTV platform (e.g., Amazon鈥檚 Prime, Walmart鈥檚 Vizio) or partner with a third party (e.g., Instacart鈥檚 partnership with Roku). Platforms are investing heavily in innovative shoppable formats to attract advertisers and further streamline the purchase funnel.

As streaming subscription prices increase, viewers are becoming more amendable to ad-supported tiers.

Tariffs threaten to reduce US digital ad spending growth this year. This series explains the effects tariffs will have on ad spending in search, social, CTV, and retail media鈥攁nd which parts of each might fare best and worst.