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The news: Live-streamer Sling TV debuted day, weekend, and weeklong streaming passes as monthly subscription costs escalate. Consumers can buy a Day Pass for $4.99, a Friday-Sunday pass for $9.99, or a Week Pass for $14.99. Passes don鈥檛 auto-renew. All three passes offer access to the same 34 channels on Sling鈥檚 Orange package, including ESPN, TNT, A&E, Comedy Central, and more. Our take: If its short-term passes are successful, we can expect more streamers to follow suit and potentially offer popular IP for rent鈥攖hink 鈥淪quid Game鈥� on Netflix or 鈥淭he Gilded Age鈥� on HBO Max. That would allow advertisers to target specific, price-conscious audiences.

OTT video鈥攊ncluding YouTube, subscription OTT, AVOD, and free ad-supported streaming TV鈥攊s extremely popular in nearly all forms. But traditional pay TV continues to reach new lows.

As Brazilians avoid new paid subscriptions, free ad-supported platforms like Pluto TV, Samsung TV Plus, and Tubi have surged into the country鈥檚 top 10 connected TV (CTV) services. Brazil鈥檚 online video market is set to hit $14.4 billion by 2029, per Omdia鈥攚ith $3 billion coming from ads.

Not everything was gloomy: Overall revenues grew 15% YoY to $2.1 billion, while direct-to-consumer subscription revenues increased 22% and global viewing hours grew 29% YoY across Paramount+ and Pluto TV. But growth didn鈥檛 extend to Paramount鈥檚 upfront results, which the company labeled as 鈥渃onsistent鈥� with last year鈥檚 upfronts.

Brands should prioritize ad spending on Tubi, Pluto TV, and YouTube. YouTube makes up the largest share of Black viewers鈥� streaming time, and they are 22 percentage points more likely to watch Tubi than total adults. Smaller but also notable gaps for Roku and Pluto TV make ad-supported video streaming services essential for advertising campaigns.

Viewership for The Roku Channel is up 67%, Tubi is up 21%, and Pluto TV is up 15%, according to Nielsen. Overall FAST viewers are growing steadily. US FAST viewers will reach over 116 million in 2025 and nearly 130 million by 2029, per our forecast. The Roku Channel leads with 87 million viewers, followed closely by Tubi (79.3 million) and PlutoTV (64.8 million).

Subscription and ad-supported video-on-demand services like Netflix, Disney+, and Crave, as well as free ad-supported streaming TV channels like Pluto TV and Roku, have attracted substantial audiences among cord-cutters and younger age groups. Add the dominant YouTube to the list, and the menu only gets fuller. Podcasts and streaming are boosting digital listenership.

And with the exception of Tubi, The Roku Channel, and Pluto TV, FAST channels have struggled to gain real traction due to high churn and competition. Big TV ad dollars are still up for grabs. In 2025, we expect US advertisers to spend $32.45 billion on CTV ads, with YouTube claiming the largest share (24.7%).

FAST trend grows globally: New channels from Free Live Sports, CBC, and Pluto TV showcase demand for free, ad-supported streaming options.

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.

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

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.

The Roku Channel, Tubi, Pluto TV, Samsung TV Plus, and a handful of others will collectively draw over 115 million US viewers this year. FAST platforms aren鈥檛 subject to subscription fatigue or pricing pressures, positioning them to capitalize on other services鈥� losses in the coming zero-sum time spent environment.

Younger consumers increasingly prefer creator content over TV, film: A Deloitte study indicates that advertisers need to rethink their strategies to remain competitive.

The share of total TV time spent controlled by Pluto TV and Paramount+ (both of which are owned by Paramount Global) has barely budged over the past year, per Nielsen. While we expect Pluto TV鈥檚 CTV ad revenues to exceed $1 billion in 2025, its share of total CTV ad spending will actually drop slightly to 3.1%. Tubi has made considerable progress with viewers.