Study: FAST viewership seeing exponential growth
January 23, 2026
Research from Roku, the streaming specialist, and Horizon Futures Group shows FAST is reshaping how viewers engage with content in a new, cable-like experience and what this means for advertisers.
The study, based on Roku’s proprietary viewership data spanning 90 million households alongside surveys of 1,500 streamers, shows that adoption of FAST has increased dramatically in recent years. Today, over half (57 per cent) of households that were streaming only ad-free in 2020 now watch FAST content.
The study defines FAST as free, live streaming content delivered on a schedule in a familiar, electronic programming guide format within streaming apps like Roku Channel.
Among the key findings:
- If FAST viewership across all channels were aggregated into a single app, it would be the fourth largest on Roku by reach.
- Since 2020, FAST viewing on the Roku Channel has seen significant growth, 262x relative to the overall TV streaming market according to Nielsen (reinforcing Roku’s claim in its 2026 Predictions report that 100 per cent of audiences will see video ads this year).
- 64 per cent of US homes currently watch FAST content.
- Viewers feel that FAST delivers more premium content than linear TV. Half of streamers agree FAST has personal favourites they like to watch again and again — their top marker of premium content.
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