Pixalate Releases Global Top 25 Most Popular Connected TV (CTV) FAST Apps Reports for Q1 2025: ‘Sling TV’ No. 1 on Roku, 'Plex' Leads on Apple TV and Samsung Smart TV

GlobeNewswire | Pixalate
Thursday, June 12, 2025 at 8:48pm UTC

London, June 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pixalate, the leading global platform for ad fraud protection, privacy, and compliance analytics, today released the Global Top 25 CTV Fast Apps Reports for Q1 2025. Pixalate published Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Samsung Smart TV versions of the report.

The reports rank the top 25 most popular Free Ad-Supported TV (FAST) apps by device type based on global open programmatic advertising volume, as measured by Pixalate. The apps are ranked after removing invalid traffic (IVT), as measured by Pixalate. 


To compile this report, Pixalate’s data science team analyzed over 5 billion open programmatic ad transactions across over six thousand unique Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Samsung Smart TV CTV apps across Q1 2025. 


Most Popular Free Ad-Supported Television (FAST) CTV Apps


Roku

RankApp NameApp Store ID
1Sling TV - Live Sports, News, Shows + Freestream46041
2Pluto TV - Free Movies/Shows74519
3The Roku Channel151908
4Xumo Play96065
5Tubi - Free Movies & TV41468




See the full list of the top 25 most popular FAST apps on Roku here.


Amazon Fire TV

RankApp NameApp Store ID
1Pluto TV - Watch Free Movies, Shows & Live TVB00KDSGIPK
2Tubi: Watch Free Movies & TV ShowsB075NTHVJW
3Sling TVB00ODC5N80
4Plex: Stream Movies & TVB004Y1WCDE
5ViX: TV, Sports and NewsB08KJ77PQY





See the full list of the top 25 most popular FAST apps on Amazon Fire TV here.


Apple TV

RankApp NameApp Store ID
1Plex: Watch Live TV and Movies383457673
2Pluto TV: Stream Movies/Shows751712884
3CBS Sports App: Scores & News307184892
4Fox Business: Invested In You333177961
5Scripps News330879884






See the full list of the top 25 most popular FAST apps on Apple TV here.


Samsung TV

RankApp NameApp Store ID
1PlexG00002687241
2SAMSUNG TV PLUSG15147002586
3Sling TVG17198010041
4Tubi - Free Movies & TVG15115002089
5Pluto TVG18229011675






See the full list of the top 25 most popular FAST apps on Samsung Smart TV here.


What are FAST Apps?


Free Ad-Supported TV (FAST) apps enable viewers to access “linear” video content in a channel-based format without subscription fees, compared to streaming platforms that depend on viewer subscriptions.
In the context of this report, "linear" signifies content presented in channel-based format, with the same programming simultaneously streamed to all viewers tuned into a specific channel.

Pixalate classifies any app meeting the above FAST criteria as a ‘FAST app,’ even if the app provides video-on-demand services or offers paid subscription tiers in addition to the free, linear content. 


Download all of Pixalate’s Q1 2025 Free Ad-Supported Television (FAST) Apps Reports



About Pixalate
Pixalate is a global platform specializing in privacy compliance, ad fraud prevention, and digital ad supply chain data intelligence. Founded in 2012, Pixalate is trusted by regulators, data researchers, advertisers, publishers, ad tech platforms, and financial analysts across the Connected TV (CTV), mobile app, and website ecosystems. Pixalate is accredited by the MRC for the detection and filtration of Sophisticated Invalid Traffic (SIVT).  pixalate.com


Disclaimer

The content of this press release, and the Q1 2025 FAST Apps Rankings Reports (the ‘reports’), reflect Pixalate's opinions with respect to factors that Pixalate believes may be useful to the digital media industry. Any data shared is grounded in Pixalate’s proprietary technology and analytics, which Pixalate is continuously evaluating and updating. Any references to outside sources should not be construed as endorsements. Pixalate's opinions are just that, opinions, which means that they are neither facts nor guarantees. Pixalate is sharing this data not to impugn the standing or reputation of any entity, person or app, but, instead, to report findings and trends pertaining to programmatic advertising activity across in the time period studied. 



Nina Talcott
ntalcott@pixalate.com

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