Report Overview

The June 2026 edition represents the 17th quarterly AIRTIME Report, which is Amagi's analysis of global FAST (Free Ad-supported Streaming TV) trends. The report draws on data from approximately 6,500 FAST channel deliveries distributed via Amagi THUNDERSTORM, the company's server-side ad insertion (SSAI) platform, covering the period April 1 – June 15, 2026, compared to the same period in 2025.

Key Performance Metrics

  • Global hours of viewing (HOV) grew 55% year-over-year
  • Global ad impressions increased 53% year-over-year
  • U.S. and Canada remained the largest monetization market, accounting for 54% of global HOV and 74% of global ad impressions
  • LATAM recorded the strongest regional growth: HOV up 190% and ad impressions up 124%
  • Entertainment remained the leading global genre: 41% of classified HOV and 40% of ad impressions
  • News accounted for 27% of HOV but delivered 33% of ad impressions
  • Kids emerged as the highest-growth genre globally: HOV up 191% and ad impressions up 118%

Metadata Pulse Survey Findings

Survey of 28 senior practitioners spanning content owners, channel operators, broadcasters, platforms, ad-side teams, and technology vendors (more than a third hold executive leadership roles):

  • 86% said reformatting metadata to meet each platform's different requirements is their single biggest operational drag
  • 86% said poor metadata is actively costing them money through lost ad revenue, weaker discovery, or platforms deprioritizing their content
  • 71% said metadata arriving from content owners is incomplete (missing genres, ratings, imagery, or episode data) and the problem is getting worse
  • 57% said AI can already generate synopses, tags, and genres reliably enough that human review only needs to be a spot-check
  • 68% expect AI to handle most metadata generation with minimal human oversight within three years
  • 68% expect major streaming platforms rather than content owners to dictate metadata standards within three years

Investment Priorities

Practitioners plan to invest in the following areas to improve metadata over the next 12 months:

  • Better AI tooling (in-house or from vendors): 32% of respondents
  • Building in-house metadata capability: 25% of respondents

Guest Analysis

Gavin Bridge, Chief Analyst at FASTMaster, provided analysis identifying three structural tensions shaping the metadata challenge: the format delivery "tax" as the dominant source of friction; distributors caught between incomplete supply-side inputs and fragmented platform demand; and a discovery layer increasingly dependent on AI agents. Bridge stated: "The metadata that wins is the kind that can be consumed by agents — human and AI. Bad metadata won't just look wrong in a grid; it'll be invisible to the systems doing the recommending."

Management Commentary

Srinivasan KA, Co-founder and President - Global Business, Amagi, commented: "FAST has earned its place at the centre of the modern media stack. What this report makes clear is that the next competitive edge isn't reach; it's operational precision." He further added: "Metadata is where discovery, ad revenue, and audience intelligence converge, and the industry is only beginning to close the gap between what it knows and what it acts on."

Additional Information

The full report is available at https://www.amagi.com/resources/fast-report. The press release is also hosted on the Company's website at https://www.amagi.com/investors/notifications. Data is sourced from approximately 6,500 channel deliveries distributed via Amagi THUNDERSTORM and is not a universal measure of the FAST industry. Survey findings are directional and based on 28 respondents; they are not statistically representative of the broader industry.

Company Business Description

Amagi is an agentic industry cloud platform serving the global media and entertainment industry, enabling media companies to launch, manage, distribute, and monetize live, linear, and on-demand content across cable, OTT, and FAST platforms. The platform includes Streaming Unification, Monetization & Marketplace, and Cloud Modernization. Amagi manages 9,000+ channel deliveries across 300+ distributors in 40+ countries.

Forward-Looking Statements

The press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws and regulations relating to anticipated benefits of partnerships, product capabilities, market opportunities, and future business prospects, subject to inherent risks and uncertainties.