Report: FAST goes mainstream
June 3, 2026
By Nik Roseveare
Rakuten TV, the European streaming platform, has unveiled a new research report, The FAST Advantage, exploring how FAST is rapidly becoming a mainstream viewing behaviour across Europe, reshaping how audiences discover, engage with and access content.
The findings from the report were presented by Cédric Dufour, CEO and President of Rakuten TV, at SXSW 2026 during the panel session, Your Free Pass to the Future of TV: Rakuten TV, AMC Global Media – UK & the FAST Channel Revolution, alongside Lucy Halliday, VP, Business Development International at AMC Global Media – UK.
The session explored how FAST is reshaping television across Europe, including why broadcasters are accelerating FAST adoption, which content and programming strategies are driving audience engagement, and how data-led distribution partnerships are expanding audience reach and discovery.
Commissioned by Rakuten TV Enterprise, the B2B arm of Rakuten TV, The FAST Advantage report examines how European audiences are engaging with FAST services, highlighting growing acceptance of advertising, evolving content discovery behaviours, and the programming strategies driving long-term engagement across the streaming ecosystem.
The research suggests that FAST is evolving beyond an emerging trend into a permanent and increasingly important part of the European streaming landscape, creating new opportunities for content owners to maximise audience reach, engagement, and monetisation across ad-supported environments. As audiences become increasingly fragmented across subscription services, streaming apps and viewing models, the report highlights how FAST is helping content owners reconnect with audiences on the biggest screen in the home while unlocking greater long-term value from existing content libraries.
FAST Moves into the Mainstream
The research found that FAST has become a regular part of viewing behaviour across Europe, with audiences increasingly incorporating ad-supported streaming into their everyday television habits.
Key findings include:
- 73.7 per cent of viewers surveyed watch FAST daily or several times per week
- 80.1 per cent of respondents consider FAST a main way to watch television or an alternative to paid streaming services
- 60.7 per cent of viewers surveyed expect to increase their use of FAST services in the future
- Only 4.3 per cent of respondents expect to reduce usage
The report also found that despite the continued growth of mobile and multi-device viewing, the television remains the dominant FAST viewing environment across Europe with 93.7 per cent of viewers surveyed primarily watching FAST on the main TV screen.
The findings reinforce FAST’s transition from a secondary or occasional viewing behaviour into a more habitual and mainstream part of television consumption across Europe.
Advertising Increasingly Accepted as a Value Exchange
The report also highlights growing audience acceptance of advertising within FAST environments, particularly when advertising feels relevant, balanced and integrated naturally into the viewing experience.
- 82.3 per cent of viewers surveyed said they accept advertising
Key drivers of advertising acceptance include showing ads that feel relevant (43.9 per cent), help viewers to discover something new (32.5 per cent), or know that content is free (43.6 per cent).
The findings suggest that monetisation strategies are most effective when advertising enhances – rather than disrupts – the overall viewing experience.
FAST Extends Discovery and Monetisation Opportunities
The report found that FAST environments are increasingly functioning as both monetisation and discovery platforms, helping audiences navigate the wider streaming ecosystem, with surveyed viewers increasingly using FAST to explore content, evaluate subscription services and manage streaming costs.
- 45.9 per cent of viewers surveyed use FAST to decide which subscription services are worth paying for
- 29.9 per cent of viewers surveyed use FAST to help reduce overall subscription spending
The report also found that advertising touchpoints beyond traditional in-stream video are creating additional opportunities for monetisation and audience engagement throughout the viewing journey. Audience noticeability across FAST environments extended well beyond traditional in-stream advertising, with 66.4 per cent of viewers surveyed noticing ads during programmes, 62.9 per cent noticing ads before programmes, 29.3 per cent noticing homescreen advertising, and 26.8 per cent noticing pause screen advertising. The findings suggest that homescreen and pause placements are becoming increasingly valuable discovery and monetisation environments outside the traditional video player, creating additional opportunities for content owners to engage audiences across the broader streaming experience.
Balancing Mainstream Demand with Local Relevance Across Europe
According to the research, successful FAST programming strategies depend on balancing broad audience appeal with deeper, more specialised viewer engagement. Movies and TV series remain the strongest drivers of FAST engagement across Europe, while themed and genre-based channels are emerging as a key growth opportunity. The report identifies themed and genre-based channels as the only category where audience demand currently exceeds current viewing behaviour, suggesting audiences are actively seeking more specialised content experiences that are not yet available at scale.
The findings also highlight the growing importance of local relevance in sustaining long-term audience engagement across European FAST environments, with 92.4 per cent of viewers surveyed saying local content is important to their viewing experience.
While the report identifies strong and consistent FAST growth across Europe, it also reveals important differences in how audiences engage with FAST services across individual markets. In the UK, FAST is increasingly supporting content discovery and subscription decision-making, with audiences using FAST services to evaluate which paid streaming platforms are worth subscribing to. Germany is identified as one of the markets where subscription fatigue is contributing to FAST adoption, as surveyed viewers look for more flexible and cost-effective viewing options.
In Spain and Italy, local and culturally relevant programming plays a particularly important role in driving engagement. Spanish audiences place particularly strong value on local content within FAST environments, while Italian viewers surveyed demonstrate some of the highest demand for culturally relevant programming across Europe.
The findings reinforce that while FAST is becoming a mainstream viewing behaviour across Europe, successful strategies will continue to require strong local market understanding, particularly around programming preferences, advertising expectations and viewer motivations.
FAST Becoming a Long-Term Strategic Opportunity
The report concludes that FAST is evolving beyond an alternative streaming model into an increasingly important strategic tool for audience growth, content discovery and long-term monetisation across Europe.
Rather than functioning solely as a distribution channel, FAST is increasingly becoming an environment where content owners can extend the visibility, engagement and commercial value of their libraries through viewer-first programming and advertising strategies.
The findings suggest that long-term success in FAST will depend on balancing monetisation, discovery and programming approaches in ways that align with evolving viewer expectations.
Dufour commented: “FAST is entering a new phase of maturity across Europe, evolving from an emerging trend into a mainstream viewing behaviour across multiple markets. For content owners, this creates significant opportunities to extend the value of content libraries, increase audience reach and build deeper engagement within ad-supported environments. Rakuten TV Enterprise sits at the heart of this evolution – connecting content owners with the right audiences, platforms and monetisation opportunities across Europe, while helping create viewer experiences that feel relevant and sustainable. Our evolving partnership with AMC Global Media – UK reflects this shift. Bringing globally recognised IP into FAST environments demonstrates how premium content can reach new audiences through free streaming access, while extending the long-term value and discoverability of content libraries.”
Halliday said: “As viewing habits continue to evolve, FAST is becoming an increasingly important part of the mix for us sitting alongside broadcast, licensing and subscription to expand how audiences discover and access content in the UK. Our partnership with Rakuten TV shows how this works in practice, bringing premium, IP-led channels to new audiences in a way that feels accessible and relevant to today’s viewing behaviours. FAST is proving highly additive, driving discovery and engagement while complementing our wider distribution strategy. As we grow our FAST footprint across the UK, partnerships like this will be key to scaling reach and unlocking further value from our content portfolio.”
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