It’s true: people like leaving their TVs on in the background

The rise of free, ad-supported streaming television (FAST) seems to have little to do with what’s playing — and more like how it’s playing. Metrics compiled by Bloomberg suggest that people really do just like to leave their TVs running in the background while working around the house or scrolling through social media.

As shown in the below chart from Bloomberg, viewers are spending more time watching Tubi, the FAST service owned by Fox, than Max, Peacock, and Paramount Plus. Tubi’s viewership has spiked within the past year, accounting for 1 percent of time spent watching TV in February 2023 to 1.7 percent in February 2024. It may even shoot past Disney Plus if the trend continues, Bloomberg reports.

While these metrics don’t go into why Tubi’s viewership is on the rise, I can only surmise that it’s because of two reasons. One, Tubi is completely free, and two, people like to throw their TV while doing other things.

My colleague Alex Cranz has already highlighted just how freeing it is to use a FAST service, as you can just jump right into a random show without worrying about keeping up with a particular storyline. This kind of low-stakes viewing is what a lot of people (myself included) prefer to veg out to instead of trying to find something on a traditional streaming service.

Tubi may not have 3 Body Problem or Succession, but what it does have is a mixture of random shows that play on an endless loop. It’s why I pop on Ink Masters on LG Channels when I’m about to go to bed rather than attempting to stay awake to finish the latest season of Invincible.