Data: Tubi is Most-Watched FAST Channel

As The Measure’s Jon Lafayette wrote this week, “There's a connected TV tug of war going on between the publishers of FAST channels and the streaming platforms that distribute them. Also in the mix is who gets to sell which ad inventory. Streaming remains a new business and the rules are still being worked out.” 

Indeed, while the battlefield has shifted a bit, the streaming wars are raging on as services adjust tactics and vie for attention (does anyone actually think removing the + from Apple TV+ will move the needle? And how about that forthcoming CNN streaming service?). In any event, it’s worth taking a look at the actual audiences for the streaming landscape — and MX8 Labs has some interesting viewer data around FASTs in particular. 

• The top three FAST channels by share of viewers are Tubi (30%), The Roku Channel (25%) and Pluto TV (20%). 
• Tubi is even more popular with Black viewers (53%) and people who own a Samsung smartphone (38%).
• Ads on FASTs are literally a part of the whole value proposition, but the data suggests that some services are doing it better than others: 60% of Samsung TV Plus viewers and 58% of Watchfree+ viewers considered the ad frequency on those platforms “just right.”