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More consumers are choosing to watch free, ad-supported streaming platforms (also known as FAST channels) amid rapidly rising subscription prices for traditional streamers.

Ad-free streaming plans have become the main target for price increases as media companies like Netflix (NFLX), Max (WBD), and Amazon (AMZN) raise the costs of their respective offerings. Paramount (PARA) joined the price hike bandwagon on Monday, announcing that it would increase the monthly costs of its Paramount+ tiers, with and without Showtime, starting August 20.

But as prices rise, consumers turn to other options. Free options.

FAST providers Roku Channel (ROKU), Fox subsidiary Tubi (FOX) and Paramount's Pluto TV all saw viewership increases during the month of May, according to the latest data from Nielsen.

Tubi, for example, led year-over-year growth for Fox following a nearly 5% monthly audience increase. He got a better platform of 1.8% from total television usage for the month, with a record one million viewers. That represents a 46% year-over-year increase, with Tubi's average audience outpacing traditional streamers like Disney+, Peacock, Paramount+ and Max, Nielsen confirmed.

At the same time, a 1.3% monthly increase in Roku Channel viewership helped the FAST provider achieve the platform's best market share of 1.5%. It is the only company to climb the rankings for the month of May, ranking 10th overall.

“We see [the FAST] This model is increasingly resonating with younger audiences as their tastes and preferences in terms of what's good and what they want to watch are evolving,” said Anjali Sud, CEO of Tubi, on the Ringers Podcast. “The City with Matthew Belloni” in April.

63% of Tubi's audience are “cord cutters” or “cord nevers”, while 40% are not on other traditional streamers.

“It’s different from being 100% free,” Sud told Belloni. “We don't ask you to sign up for an ad tier or subscription tier. We're not trying to upsell you a product. Fragmentation and friction are reduced.”

It's a similar model to the one that made YouTube, owned by parent company Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG), such a success.

According to Nielsen, YouTube garnered 9.7% of the overall audience across smart and traditional TVs in the U.S. during the month of May, the largest TV share for a streaming platform ever reported by the agency.

Experts say YouTube's growth has led to increased interest in ad-supported options like FAST channels, especially from younger consumers.

“YouTube essentially pushes us towards [this] “I'm looking for a very search-driven experience,” said Vikrant Mathur, co-founder of Future Today, a company specializing in ad-supported connected TV solutions. “I'm looking for a movie or TV show. I find it wherever I find it. I'll watch it. As long as there are no barriers to that content, I prefer that experience to having to m 'subscribe.'

However, this is not a proven business model. Tubi, which Fox acquired for $440 million in 2020, has yet to turn a profit, with its long-term prospects also in question amid the expected re-acceleration of mergers and acquisitions within the sector.

“I'm probably a little more cautious than others,” Macquarie analyst Tim Nollen told Yahoo Finance, noting that FAST providers must use a different strategic approach compared to other streamers given their lack of premium content. or exclusive.

“The lack of premium content means they have to use technology effectively to target the users they have,” Nollen said. “It's a broad audience, but it might not be a particularly engaged audience. I think they'll be successful in using technology to target those users. But it might be in a somewhat different.”