Growth in free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) services is continuing to outpace industry expectations with particularly strong take-up in Europe, according to the latest report from Amagi.

The sixth edition of the Quarterly Global FAST Report reveals that there was a year-on-year increase of 99.97% in ad impressions and over 51% in hours of viewing in Europe during the period from July to September 2022.

Amagi-FAST-Report

Amagi Global FAST Report : FAST continues to dazzle

The availability of connected TVs (CTV) is a key marker of FAST channels adoption in a market. Amagi’s research shows that Western Europe, with 70% CTV coverage, is gaining ground on the United States, where coverage is about 80%.

In Central and Eastern Europe, CTV coverage is below 50%, although Amagin noted that this is still fuelling a huge FAST viewership spike of over 1,500% across these regions year-on-year in Q3 2022.

Srinivasan KA, co-founder and chief revenue officer at Amagi, said: “We see FAST continuing to accelerate in a challenging macro environment, and we anticipate the trend to continue, making it an attractive time for content owners to get into this market.”