Free TV is booming
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David Letterman, Chuck E. Cheese and 50 Cent are all promoting their own TV channels with one crucial common denominator — they're free.
Why it matters: "This is the new default TV experience," Sarah Nelson, global head of strategic partnerships at Samsung TV Plus, told Axios.
- "People are abandoning linear. Subscription services have sort of reached saturation. People are really looking for premium content and experience that's super lean back, frictionless, easy to access and at no cost to them," Nelson said.
Driving the news: Streamers have grown their reach and revenue by embracing ads. Amazon said the ad-supported tier of Prime Video reaches 130 million U.S. customers on Monday at its Upfront presentation for advertisers. On Wednesday, Netflix — once famously anti-advertising — will host a formal Upfront.
- But free TV dominated the sales pitches during last week's NewFronts, the annual advertising event for digital-focused companies. Samsung touted its free, ad-supported television (FAST) channels on Samsung TV Plus including from Letterman, the Jonas Brothers and Billboard.
- Other TV makers like LG and Vizio presented their FAST services along with content providers like Vevo, Revry and Dr. Phil's Merit TV.
- During Fox-owned Tubi's event, actor Noah Beck credited the "lack of paywall" to why his movie, "Sidelined: The QB and Me," went viral across social media. "Anyone's able to just jump in and watch a show or a movie, and I think that alone just helps to spread. It's so easy to watch," he said.
By the numbers: FAST isn't new, but the number of channels and viewership is rising.
- An estimated 1,755 FAST services are available in the U.S., U.K., Germany and Canada, as of May 5, up 17% since June 2024 and 67% since June 2023, according to Gracenote.
- Nielsen said Pluto TV, Paramount's FAST service, was the first to appear in The Gauge, its monthly analysis of TV consumption, in August 2022.
- PlutoTV viewership is up 15%, Tubi's up 21% and The Roku Channel's up 67% since April 2024, per Nielsen.
Yes, but: YouTube captures the most streaming viewership on TVs, per Nielsen.
- Building a FAST channel can be a significant investment — more so than uploading new or old programming on YouTube or social channels.
How it works: FAST's value lies in the scaled audience, curation and control, where publishers and brands can lean into fandom.
- "We've been doing Facebook. We've been doing YouTube. That doesn't change. This is just another place for us," Billboard CEO Mike Van told Axios. "More so than ever, people's attentions are fragmented. We need to be meeting them everywhere they are."
- "There's a lot more control that you have in [a FAST] environment, which you own and operate, versus a YouTube," Vikrant Mathur, CEO of Future Today, a streaming channel provider that's supporting Chuck E. Cheese's FAST launch, told Axios.
The bottom line: "When I think of why [FAST], it's like, 'Why not now?'" said Melissa McLeanas, CEC Entertainment's vice president, global licensing, media and branded entertainment. "We really do have so much content."
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect Netflix's Upfront is on Wednesday (not Tuesday).
