SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " Ad-Supported " 26 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
Sign in to save shuffle history.
Amazon Bets APAC Future on Building the "Entertainment Hub"
At Asia's leading media conference, held this week in Bali, Amazon regional entertainment leaders touted its radical localization strategies, 600-plus distribution partners, and the new ad-supported tier in India built on Amazon MX Player.
10 Free TV Streaming Platforms Worth Trying in February 2026 — Hidden Gems, Classics, & More
For 2026, cord cutters can save money and enjoy great content by utilizing free, ad-supported streaming (FAST) platforms. FAST has quietly become the smartest way to watch, especially if you’re tired of paying for dozens of channels you never open. These services give you real choices of live channels that feel like TV, on-demand libraries […]
Watch Why Fox is ‘the most Disciplined’ Media Entertainment Company in the Streaming Era
Media veteran Michael Wolf discusses Allen & Company’s annual Sun Valley Conference and breaks down the mega deals that are reshaping the entertainment industry. He explains why free ad-supported content is the unsung winner of the streaming wars, and digs into the ways AI is changing the value of content.
Our expanded partnership with NBCUniversal: Redefining the modern entertainment subscription
YouTube Premium is expanding its partnership with NBCUniversal to give subscribers access to ad-supported Peacock Premium streaming.
Looking for sports to watch for free? Here's a FAST way to do it
FAST stands for free ad-supported streaming television. Granted, FAST channels don’t carry the biggest games, but in a world where watching sports only gets more expensive, I refer you back to the word FREE.
Triple B Media Adds SLVR Sports & Entertainment Featuring Los Angeles Kings Games to Its Portfolio of FAST Channels
/PRNewswire/ -- Triple B Media, a leader in the free, ad-supported television (FAST) universe, has announced a partnership with Silver Sports & Entertainment...
Microsoft patent describes in-game advertising triggered by boss fights, loading screens, and cutscenes
The filing points to a possible ad-supported model for PC and console games that is less disruptive than the approaches commonly used in mobile titles.
Reports of ad-supported Xbox game streams show Microsoft's lack of imagination
Xbox maker needs some fresher ideas for expanding access to cloud gaming.
Cost-Free Entertainment Platforms Propel Growth in the Ad-Supported Streaming TV Sector
The FAST market is driven by increasing consumer adoption of cost-free streaming, expanding ad-supported content, and enhanced personal advertising technologies. This growth is further accelerated by smart TV integration, diverse content offerings, and rising digital video libraries, notably in Asia-Pacific. Free Advertisement (Ad)-Supported Streaming Television (TV) (FAST) Market Free Advertisement (Ad)-Supported Streaming Television (TV) (FAST) Market Dublin, July 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
Tubi Expands Teton Ridge Entertainment Partnership with New Sports Documentary Film "Gonzaga:The Slipper Still Fits"
SAN FRANCISCO – Tubi (www.tubi.tv), Fox Corporation's (NASDAQ: FOXA, FOX) free ad-supported streaming service, today announced the debut of sports documentary GONZAGA: THE SLIPPER STILL FITS as part of its exclusive partnership with Teton Ridge Entertainment. The documentary features a close look at one of college basketball's most impressive programs, focusing on the perennial Cinderella team that has become a powerhouse. The documentary premieres on Friday, March 6 as a Tubi Original.
Ionic Studios and Questar Entertainment Form Joint Venture to Operate GoTraveler, North America's Largest Travel Channel on Free Streaming Television
Ionic Studios LLC ("Ionic") and Questar Entertainment Group, Inc. ("Questar") today announced the formation of Ionic Questar Holdings, LLC, a joint venture to operate, monetize, and grow GoTraveler, North America's largest travel channel on free ad-supported streaming television. Under the partnership, Ionic serves as Publisher of Record and brings its full operating apparatus to the channel, while Questar contributes the GoTraveler brand and a content library built over more than four decades.
Microsoft is testing free, ad-supported cloud gaming for Xbox Insiders
Would you watch ads to stream your games for free?
Streaming ad loads are increasing this year on Netflix, Hulu, and more
Ad-supported streaming services are showing more commercials per hour amid a profit push in Hollywood.
European Football Alliance Expands North American Reach Through Distribution Agreement with Fubo Sports Network
Partnership brings live EFA games and original programming to Audiences in U.S. and Canada The European Football Alliance (EFA) today announced a new content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the owned-and-operated FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) channel from FuboTV Inc. (NYSE: FUBO), significantly expanding the league's visibility and accessibility across the United States and Canada. Launching its inaugural season in May 2026, the EFA is dedicated to elevating the quality,
Gears of War: E-Day sells 230K copies
Gears of War: E-Day has sold 230K copies since its advance-access launch on October 1 and full release on October 6. Steam accounts for 168K of those, with Xbox (console and PC) selling 62K. But there’s more to this story, as Xbox makes up the bulk of revenue. E-Day is the best-reviewed Gears game in nearly two decades (and the best one ever made, in my opinion). The Coalition has made a banger here (it’s currently in my top 10 of the year). Despite E-Day’s undeniable quality, this is a soft result. And it’s down to the business model, really. E-Day has made $37M so far, thanks to the Premium upgrade On Xbox, Game Pass is cannibalising much of the premium revenue. Our estimates show that 1.7M folks accessed E-Day via their subscription rather than a copy. But Xbox is having it both ways – or having it halfway, at least – via its Premium Edition Game Pass upgrade. Game Pass subscribers could pay $30 (or their local equivalent) for up to five days of early access starting October 1. Our estimates show that of the 1.7M who accessed E-Day through Game Pass, 722K paid for the upgrade. Between the review embargo lifting on October 1 and the full release, E-Day managed to shift another 250K early-access upgrades – no doubt helped by the campaign’s rave reviews. So despite selling far fewer copies on Steam, Xbox accounts for almost three-quarters of the revenue (roughly $26M of the $37M, versus about $11M on Steam). So “230K copies” undersells the paying audience. Including the 722K upgrades, nearly 950K people actually paid something for E-Day. The $30 upgrade is a halfstep from cannibalisation, but will Xbox go all the way? While E-Day is a sublime game, these are soft numbers for a flagship when Xbox badly needs revenue wins. E-Day sold 62K copies on Xbox against 722K Premium upgrades, so for every one copy sold on Xbox, nearly 12 Game Pass upgrades were sold. The $70 premium SKU is – functionally – dead on Xbox. Normally you can’t see what a Game Pass player would have paid, because the game’s just there in the subscription. But the $30 early-access upgrade estimate shows that 722K people demonstrated they’ll spend real money on this game. In a world without day-one Game Pass, many of these folks would have bought E-Day at $70. They paid $30 for five days early access to something they don’t own. Xbox is, in effect, charging its most valuable customers the least, based on a hangover from a tried-and-exhausted strategy from a previous administration. Those 722K willing-to-pay players generated about $21.7M via the upgrade. If three quarters of this group – mostly US and European audiences – bought E-Day outright, that’s nearly $40M. Of course, Game Pass does bring in meaningful recurring revenue, and E-Day is adding value for hundreds of thousands of subscribers. However, Game Pass is no longer growing, so Xbox is at a crossroads. Xbox is reportedly looking to do a Netflix and bolt on an ad-supported tier to pad it further. But that will just set a new floor, and leadership keeps telling us the priority now is revenue growth, which is subscriber-speak for ARPU. Xbox has already pulled Call of Duty from day-one Game Pass after day-one inclusion hammered its sales, with new CoD titles now arriving on the service around a year late. We know that some Microsoft executives believe the service devalues games outright, and rumours (which Microsoft has dismissed so far, to be fair) suggest that day-one releases could be taken off Game Pass. Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe When a game this well-reviewed does this softly on its home platform, the model – not the game – gets brought into question. What else E-Day’s early adopters have played (including this month so far) Looking at E-Day‘s players on Xbox, most have played the franchise before (86% have played Gears 5, 76% Gears 4), and every game on the crossover list is either a shooter or a title from an Xbox-owned studio (though Game Pass is inflating those numbers, of course, more on that later): As for what else Xbox’s E-Day players have played this month, the top three are Fortnite (16%), Roblox (7%), and Call of Duty (6%). Another 5% played Minecraft Dungeons II, which is also on Game Pass and launched a couple of days before Gears‘ advance-access date. Many Game Pass players are happy to check out most big new additions. Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe Over on Steam, the top crossover games are also mostly shooters (slightly more PC-coded ones), including Space Marine 2, which was itself heavily inspired by Gears: Looking at what E-Day‘s Steam players are into this month shows who they are – as subscriptions don’t skew the data. The top three are Wardogs (13%), Deadlock (12%), and CS2 (10%), so you’ve got the restless shooter crowd checking out the new hotness. A little further down are Helldivers 2 and Space Marine 2, your co-op PVE shooter players who’ll feel right at home in Horde mode. Game Pass is skewing the playtime distribution on Xbox Looking at the playtime distribution in our platform, E-Day players on Steam are – relatively speaking – playing for longer: 54% of E-Day players on Xbox have played for five hours or less (versus 32% on Steam) 19% of Xbox players played for over 15 hours (versus 33% on Steam) 14% of Xbox players played for over 20 hours (22% on Steam) The absolute number of people playing for over 15, 20, and 50 hours is, of course, bigger on Xbox, thanks to the sheer volume of folks who came in through Game Pass (upgraders included). None of that is cause for alarm. Game Pass is the reason Xbox playtime skews lower, as when a game is free to try, people try it and bounce without putting in even an hour (17% under an hour on Xbox versus 6% on Steam). Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe The subscription brings in tourists alongside the committed, dragging down the average even when the game is excellent (but also perhaps winning over the uninitiated). It’s standard across every subscription-included title, on PS Plus too. Forza Horizon 6, for instance, had 11% of its Xbox players bounce under an hour, versus just 2% on Steam. So, Xbox’s crossroads So there we have it. Gears of War: E-Day is an incredible game whose revenues have been stifled by subscription inclusion and exclusivity. It’s the best-reviewed entry in the series in fifteen-odd years, but it still turned into one of the year’s softer flagship launches, not because players didn’t want it, but because Xbox’s own storefront gave its most willing buyers a reason not to pay. Which leaves Xbox at a crossroads. Will it keep making Gears games when the financial returns are this thin and the margins this low? And if it does, does the next one arrive off Game Pass at day one – the way CoD now does, or even on PlayStation? I think it should. Alright, back to E-Day for me! The last word Reply to this email – or reach out here – if you have any feedback for the newsletter – or want to request a game for us to cover. [Alinea Analytics boasts the most accurate PC and console estimates in the business. Game makers use our platform to understand their audience, keep an eye on the competition, monitor sales trends, and spot new opportunities. We equip game studios and financial institutions with accurate data and the confidence to make smarter, data-driven decisions. Want to talk about all things games market data? We’d love to chat!]
Amazon and Microsoft pivot cloud gaming strategies to target different players
Amazon is bringing Luna to the Prime Video streaming service, while Microsoft will test an ad-supported streaming of titles that people own.
Pluto TV Bows 'Double Feature Fridays' Weekly Movie Promotion With 'Entertainment Tonight'
Pluto TV is rolling out a weekly classic movie promotion, “Double Feature Fridays,” with “Entertainment Tonight” beginning Aug 21. The free ad-supported streaming television (Fast) platform will pair a studio classic with a new indie title, streaming 8 p.m. Eastern Time. Each pairing is connected by shared talent, genre, or theme, and introduced through original … Continue reading "Pluto TV Bows ‘Double Feature Fridays’ Weekly Movie Promotion With ‘Entertainment Tonight’"
Xbox Is Now Testing Its Free, Ad-Supported Streaming Tier
'Up to two' minutes' worth of ads in exchange for an hour of gaming
Pluto TV's New App is Rolling Out Now As Paramount Overhauls Its Pluto TV & Paramount+ Apps
Pluto TV is in the process of deploying a significant technical and design update that places its free ad-supported streaming service on the same underlying application foundation as Paramount+. The change, long planned as part of Paramount Skydance’s broader streaming infrastructure merger to use the same app for both services, keeps the two services as […]
Tubi Expands Teton Ridge Entertainment Partnership with New Sports Documentary Film "Gonzaga:The Slipper Still Fits"
SAN FRANCISCO – Tubi (www.tubi.tv), Fox Corporation's (NASDAQ: FOXA, FOX) free ad-supported streaming service, today announced the debut of sports documentary GONZAGA: THE SLIPPER STILL FITS as part of its exclusive partnership with Teton Ridge Entertainment. The documentary features a close look at one of college basketball's most impressive programs, focusing on the perennial Cinderella team that has become a powerhouse. The documentary premieres on Friday, March 6 as a Tubi Original.
Microsoft doesn't dismiss rumours a major Xbox Game Pass shake-up is on the way, which reportedly removes day-one game offerings entirely
Xbox Game Pass may dramatically change in 2027, losing day-one games and cloud streaming, and seemingly getting an ad-supported tier, according a new leak.
EXCLUSIVE: Xbox Cloud Gaming is getting ad-supported access this year
Users have been noticing that Xbox Cloud Gaming has begun referencing "ad support" while launching games, confirming our earlier report.
Microsoft Launches Test for Ad-Supported Xbox Game Streaming, Promises the Ads Will Not 'Interrupt the Flow of Gameplay'
Ad-supported Xbox game streaming is here, Microsoft has said. Here's how it works and how you can try it out.
How JoySauce is building an Asian American comedy pipeline from the ground up
JoySauce launches its first ad-supported streaming channel on Amazon Prime dedicated to Asian American voices, premiering comedy series "Jokes with JoySauce" in January.
Titan OS adds 30 Radial Entertainment FAST channels in Europe
Titan OS is adding and expanding reach of 30 free ad-supported streaming TV channels from Radial Entertainment’s FilmRise to its smart TV OS-powered device footprint across Europe. | Expansion of FilmRise channels internationally is currently a top priority for Radial, the company said.
Xbox Tests Ad-Supported Game Streaming
Xbox is rolling out a test for ad-supported cloud gaming that will be available for a limited time on a voluntary basis for members of its fan-testing community, Xbox Insiders.