Free ad-supported streaming television has officially moved beyond its reputation as a budget alternative to paid streaming. New research from Hub Entertainment Research shows FAST audiences now look increasingly similar to traditional streaming subscribers in viewing behavior, engagement, and overall entertainment spending.
Hub’s inaugural “FAST: Full Throttle” study found that 55% of U.S. TV viewers have used at least one FAST service, while 46% of regular FAST users now describe those services as a “must-have” part of their entertainment lineup. The report surveyed 3,009 U.S. consumers between ages 16 and 74, including 2,500 monthly FAST users.
The findings matter because they challenge one of the streaming industry’s longest-running assumptions: that free streaming primarily attracts low-value or disengaged viewers unwilling to pay for television.
Hub’s data shows FAST users still pay for streaming, still spend significant time watching television, and remain highly engaged across entertainment categories. The report positions FAST less as a replacement for subscription streaming and more as an expanding layer inside the broader connected TV ecosystem.
FAST Usage Has Moved From Sampling Behavior to Habitual Viewing
The strongest signal in Hub’s research is the degree to which FAST has become embedded in regular television behavior.
The study found:
- 55% of TV viewers have used at least one FAST service
- 46% of regular FAST users consider those services “must-have”
- 28% of FAST users say they watch FAST services every day
Those numbers place FAST well beyond experimental viewing behavior.
The industry originally positioned FAST as a secondary monetization layer for aging library content. Consumers are increasingly treating free streaming services as permanent parts of their television routines.
That shift changes how media companies should think about distribution strategy, audience retention, and advertising scale.
FAST Users Still Spend Heavily on Television
One of the report’s most important findings is that FAST viewers continue spending heavily across television services.
Hub found FAST users report watching approximately 24 hours of TV per week, compared to 22 hours among viewers who don’t use FAST services.
Their spending patterns remain close as well:
- FAST users estimate spending roughly $75 per month on TV services
- Non-FAST users report spending about $84 per month
The report also found that 60% of FAST users view free streaming as a complement to paid services rather than a replacement for them.
That behavior increasingly resembles a rebuilt television bundle where audiences move between subscription streaming, free streaming, and creator-driven video environments depending on the type of content they want to watch.
Library Content Is Becoming More Valuable Again
Hub’s data reinforces the growing importance of catalog programming inside ad-supported streaming ecosystems.
The study found that 46% of FAST users primarily watch older television shows, whether they’re revisiting familiar titles or discovering catalog content for the first time.
That has major economic implications for streaming companies trying to balance profitability with audience retention.
FAST services benefit from lower programming acquisition costs, deep episode libraries, high-volume viewing hours, and consistent ad inventory generation. Those economics make catalog television materially more valuable in ad-supported environments than it appeared during the peak years of subscription-driven streaming expansion.
Services like Tubi have benefited directly from that shift by building large-scale viewing businesses around catalog depth and frictionless access rather than expensive exclusivity.
Hub’s report also found that users value FAST because of simplicity. Among respondents, 87% cited free access as a major benefit, 40% highlighted quick access to programming, and 33% said FAST services make discovering content easier.
The operational simplicity matters because many FAST services don’t require account creation, subscription management, or payment credentials before viewing begins.
Creator Content Is Becoming a Growth Driver for FAST
The most strategically important finding in the report may be the relationship between FAST audiences and creator-led video consumption.
Hub found:
- 85% of FAST users are regular YouTube viewers
- 66% of non-FAST users regularly watch YouTube
- 48% of FAST users describe creator content as “must-have”
- 32% of non-FAST users say the same
The overlap between FAST audiences and creator-content audiences is becoming increasingly difficult for traditional media companies to ignore.
Connected TV has already pushed YouTube into the center of television consumption. Hub’s findings suggest FAST may become one of the primary environments where traditional long-form programming and creator ecosystems coexist inside the same viewing experience.
The report also found that 59% of FAST users say they would try a new free streaming service if it offered creator content alongside traditional television and film programming.
That matters because younger viewers already move fluidly between streaming television, social video, YouTube creators, live streams, and traditional episodic programming. FAST increasingly fits naturally into those consumption habits because it combines lean-back television viewing with the accessibility and immediacy audiences now expect from digital video.
Younger Audiences Are Accelerating the Shift
Hub’s demographic findings show FAST usage skewing younger than non-user households.
According to the report:
- 38% of FAST users are under 35
- 25% of non-users fall into that age category
That demographic trend matters because younger audiences increasingly treat connected TV as a unified entertainment environment rather than separating traditional television from digital video.
The distinction between streaming television, creator programming, and internet video continues collapsing inside connected-TV ecosystems.
The Streaming Wars Take
FAST is evolving into a core layer of the television business rather than a secondary monetization strategy.
Hub’s research shows free streaming audiences are deeply engaged television consumers who continue spending heavily across entertainment categories while adding FAST into their viewing habits.
The biggest strategic implication is the growing convergence between FAST and creator content. YouTube behavior, creator engagement, and free television usage increasingly overlap across the same households, creating pressure on traditional streaming companies to rethink how programming, discovery, and monetization work inside connected-TV ecosystems.
The next stage of streaming growth may depend less on launching another subscription product and more on building viewing environments that combine premium programming, catalog television, creator content, and scalable advertising models inside a single consumer experience.
FAST services are already moving in that direction.
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