Key Insights
61% of free ad-supported streaming viewers are cord-cutters or cord-nevers meaning they had linear, cancelled, and didn't go back, or have never had linear (broadcast or cable) television.
Tubi just added Conan O'Brien, Trevor Noah, and other marquee podcast talent through a SiriusXM distribution deal reaching 100 million monthly users.
The 25-34 cohort driving free ad-supported TV (FAST) growth is the same demographic most likely to use AI assistants to find what to watch.
Did You Know?
61% of FAST viewers are cord-cutters or cord-nevers, according to VAB analysis of MRI-Simmons data. Cordless Americans now represent 160 million people, up 190% since 2016, while the corded population has dropped 53% in the same period. FAST advertising revenue is estimated to hit $5 billion by 2028 according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
The Fox-owned free streaming service struck a deal with SiriusXM to distribute video podcasts from its network — including Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend, What Now? with Trevor Noah, and Rotten Mango — across its 100 million monthly active users. Advertising inventory will be sold jointly by both companies.
Rich Bloom, General Manager of Creator Programs at Tubi:
“By bringing some of the most compelling voices in podcasting to Tubi, we're giving creators a powerful new avenue to expand their reach and connect with viewers who are hungry for these stories. We're committed to being the platform where creators scale — and we're just getting started."
AI assistants are now the primary search tool for 36% of U.S. desktop users. When someone asks where to watch something, they're increasingly asking an AI. And FAST is being systematically left out of the answer.
In a March 2026 study, ChatGPT returned correct where-to-watch answers 43.76% of the time. Claude returned correct answers 50.21% of the time. Free streaming services were among the most frequently omitted. No FAST service appeared in the top 20 of AI-generated entertainment citations.
Combine that with the fact that the 25-34 cohort is the fastest-growing segment for both FAST viewing and AI assistant usage.
The audience is growing. The content is improving. But if the primary discovery surface for the exact demographic FAST is winning can't find the content, the opportunity to serve an ad never exists. The ad never runs. The revenue never materializes.
Read last week's analysis featuring Comscore data here
Audit your top titles across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, and anything else anyone on your team uses...today. Know exactly what AI returns when someone asks where to watch your most-distributed shows. If the answer is wrong or missing that's a metadata problem (not a content problem).
Treat metadata as distribution infrastructure. Every title, every episode, every creator partnership needs structured machine-readable data that AI systems can index accurately. This is the new discovery layer.
Loop your advertising partners in now (they're reading this too). Brands buying against your FAST inventory have a direct interest in AI discoverability. If AI routes their target audience elsewhere, the reach they paid for never materializes. Make this a shared problem before they figure it out independently.
The Tubi-SiriusXM deal puts the right content on the right platform for the right audience. The next move is making sure the audience can actually find it.