Most popular AVOD/FAST services in the U.S. and Canada 2022

As of the second quarter of 2022, the most popular ad-supported video streaming service in the U.S. and Canada was The Roku Channel, with 21.5 percent of respondents watching content on this FAST platform. Second came Tubi, closely followed by Peacock.

AVOD’s benefit

Unlike subscription and transactional video-on-demand services, the ad-supported streaming model offers content for free or at a lower cost and generates revenues via advertising. With this in mind, and SVOD services becoming more expensive in light of increasing inflation rates, it is not surprising that audiences pivot towards ad-supported video streaming services. The penetration rate of AVOD in the U.S. is expected to grow from 41.8 percent in 2022 to over 50 percent in 2026.

FAST times

Along with AVOD, free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) featuring linear channels is another streaming segment that has been experiencing considerable growth recently. While the share of FAST viewers in the U.S. amounted to 40 percent in 2020, platforms like Pluto TV and The Roku Channel reached an all-time high penetration rate of 58 percent in 2022, in particular driven by content genres such as live news and events, as well as bingeable older movies and TV shows.