Key Points:

• FAST platforms and apps are serving up more than 1,300 linear content channels in the U.S.
• While 88% of viewers are open to watching content on free streaming platforms, less than one-third of streamers actually engage with FAST channels and apps on a regular basis.
• Media executives and streamers have differing perspectives on whether the FAST market is oversaturated.

Connected television (CTV) platforms are now serving up hundreds of linear content channels and dozens of apps that offer free access to TV shows, movies, news and sports — but finding something to watch on those channels and apps remains a huge challenge that few platforms have managed to address.

That is one of the key findings in a new report issued by Looper Insights earlier this month, which solidified the notion that free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) services are growing in popularity with streamers, despite some common pain points throughout the ecosystem.

There are now more than 1,300 FAST channels in the U.S., spread out across different services like Samsung TV Plus, LG Channels, Fox-owned Tubi, Paramount’s Pluto TV and Comcast and Charter’s joint venture Xumo Play (which also powers a handful of third-party platforms, including Google TV Freeplay). Some pay TV platforms, including DirecTV, Dish Network’s Sling TV and Philo, have also incorporated FAST channels into their offerings, and many offer free access to FAST channels and content through their apps.

The wide availability of FAST has pique the interest of TV fans, with 90 percent of Americans saying they’re open to exploring channels and on-demand content through free apps, according to Looper. But less than one-third of streamers actively seek out FAST content on a regular basis, the firm reported, and many complain that FAST platforms do not make it easy to discover new things to watch.

Streamers aren’t alone in that complaint: Industry analysts and experts have echoed the same sentiments. Looper quoted nScreenMedia Chief Analyst Colin Dixon in the report, who criticized FAST platforms as doing a “horrible job helping users find engaging content to watch.”

“FAST services do not need more channels,” Dixon affirmed. “The decline in viewers, viewing time, and lackluster channel usage relates directly to the core problem.”

Many media executives feel the same way: Out of nearly 40 media executives surveyed by Looper, half said they felt there were too many FAST channels and apps in the marketplace, suggesting consumers were feeling overwhelmed by choice and underwhelmed by the options presented due to a lack of compelling content.

Consumers don’t seem to feel the same way, with Looper noting only 12 percent of Americans surveyed felt overwhelmed by the amount of FAST channels and apps. The difference in opinion proves that there is “a major gap between perception and reality” among media executives and consumers, Looper said.

Consumer appetite for free content is there — and especially notable among some platforms, including Tubi and The Roku Channel, which regularly place on Nielsen’s “The Gauge” reports that measure share of time spent with TV in a given month. Both apps have grown their share of reach among streaming consumers over the past year, according to an analysis of Nielsen’s reports by The Desk, and they appeared to be among the key platforms pulling audiences away from traditional broadcast and cable TV.

Rather than focus on oversaturation, Looper suggests FAST platforms increase their focus on helping consumers sort through the abundance of channels and content by developing better search and discovery tools.