FAST Channels Growing Fast: Metadata, Not So Much

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Free ad-supported streaming TV is having a moment. Channel counts jumped nearly 9% between Q3 and Q4 2025 as publishers rushed to plant their flags. Streaming now accounts for 46.4% of ad-supported TV viewing, according to Nielsen’s The Gauge. Goldman Sachs sees the combined FAST market growing 15% a year through 2027.

That is the good news. The not so good news is that a lot of FAST inventory shows up to the programmatic party without a name tag, according to a report by researcher Gracenote, a unit of Nielsen.


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