The second finding reveals the most popular FAST services by total hours. The Comscore report placed The Roku Channel (42%) first, Pluto TV (38%) in second and Tubi (20%) in third.

These findings would suggest that The Roku Channel is the most popular offering in the rapidly growing FAST ecosystem. Importantly, Roku’s position as the most popular OS is a key factor in the popularity of its FAST service.

Roku positions The Roku Channel prominently on its OS, and given the ubiquity of the Roku OS, that provides The Roku Channel with a high degree of visibility. At its May NewFront event, Roku president Charlie Collier touted this same strategic advantage to ad buyers, calling Roku the “lead-in” for streaming.

However, the Comscore data is at odds with findings from other measurement firms. The Nielsen Gauge report mentioned earlier places Tubi in the lead, responsible for 1.7% of total streaming consumption. The Roku Channel trails closely at 1.4%, with Pluto TV in third at 0.8%.

Notably, Nielsen and Comscore used different methodologies for the data reports. Comscore measured only FAST services, while Nielsen’s report reflects all streamers such as Netflix, Hulu and Peacock.

But the discrepancies highlight the challenge of universal measurement in the streaming space, a pain point that is particularly acute among FAST offerings, which have only recently become mainstays in conversations around consumption.

Nonetheless, as more ad spend flows to CTV, and more price-conscious consumers grow weary of hiking subscription rates, the FAST ecosystem is poised to expand. According to Comscore, at the moment, the race is The Roku Channel’s to lose.