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FAST and Streaming – Professional Essentials from NewscastStudio

Delving into FAST's growth, personalized content and streaming’s influence on traditional broadcasting models.

NEWSCASTSTUDIO.COM

By DAVID DEMBOWSKI

Head of Global Sales and Account Management

Operative

Free ad-supported TV (FAST) is grow-

ing, well, fast.

There are several reasons why viewers

are taking to the new channel so quick-

ly. First, FAST is part of the general trend

moving from traditional broadcast and lin-

ear TV towards streaming technology. In

the U.S., streaming overtook cable TV in

July of 2022 to become the most popular

way to get TV. Globally, streaming growth

rates are much higher than other TV op-

tions.

Around the world, consumers like that

streaming offers better choices at a better

price point - a win-win. FAST is a streaming

option that is appealing to cost-conscious

viewers who are tired of paying subscrip-

tion fees. The majority of respondents in

one major study showed that people are

willing to watch ads to save money.

Viewers also like that FAST is truly dig-

ital. With connected TVs (aka

CTVs) in nearly three quarters

of every household in the Unit-

ed Kingdom, for example, mil-

lions of people have the prom-

ise of interactive, addressable

viewing in their homes. Young-

er generations, in particu-

lar, are used to social media

platforms, where commerce,

communication and content

are all combined. FAST, and

streaming in general, is likely

to evolve in that direction in

the future, and consumers are embracing

these innovations.

FAST opportunities

Having a competitive FAST offering

gives broadcast and cable companies an

opportunity to appeal to advertisers in

new ways. First, FAST is where audiences

are moving. If broadcast and cable publish-

ers want to remain competitive, they need

streaming options like FAST to

deliver access to these shifting

audiences.

Advertisers are following

consumers to FAST, and media

companies will be well served

to create FAST offerings that

highlight all of the best ele-

ments of the channel to meet

advertiser demand. Advertis-

ers like FAST combine the big-

screen

attention-capturing

appeal of broadcast TV with

the addressability, targeting,

measurement, reporting and

interactivity of digital. While TV is often

pre-sold in blocks of placements through

up-fronts and manual insertion orders,

advertisers want to be able to buy FAST

TV programmatically, and they want to

buy against specific audiences, not just

content types. This allows them to create

By MICHAEL P. HILL

Founder and publisher

NewscastStudio

Free ad-supported streaming

TV, also known as FAST, has al-

ready become a major player in

the broadcasting industry.

This makes it an exciting time

to be in the business, with new

channels and services launch-

ing left and right. Content own-

ers and platform owners are also

challenging the rules and existing norms

that this young niche has already estab-

lished.

From a content producer or owner’s

perspective it’s now possible to monetize

millions of hours of programming that

might otherwise go unused. With low bar-

riers to entry, it’s possible to dream up a

FAST channel for just about any type of

programming, genre or niche.

Sure, not every channel is destined to be

a runaway hit, but they don’t necessarily

have to still bring value to consumers and

content owners.

The rise of FAST is also challenging lin-

ear television and subscription video on

demand services, SVOD, like never before

and there’s a flurry of activity to come out

on top once the dust settles.

FAST also has the pontential to upheave

the advertising industry. Ad tech inno-

vations are delivering new ways for mar-

keters to reach consumers, but

there’s always the fine line of

just how many ads are too many.

FASTs also bring new levels of

targeting, dynamic advertising

and analytics, including deliver-

ing better ROI and insights for

advertisers.

FASTs are also eager to keep

viewers engaged during ad-

vertising, since losing eyeballs

during breaks has the potential to

upend the whole profit center of FAST, just

like the fast-forward button on VCRs and

DVRs did to linear TV.

All these launches, changes, tests and

tweaks make for a dizzying amount of in-

formation to keep track of.

In this digital magazine, we’ve gathered

experts from across the industry to share

their insights into all aspects of FAST.

We hope you find this information useful

during this exciting, but challenging, time

in broadcasting.

Michael P. Hill founded NewscastStu-

dio, then known as SetStudio in 2003. The

site changed its name in 2008 to reflect a

broader scope of coverage. The site has

since expanded to offer full coverage of

broadcast news, sports, entertainment and

more, incorporating the areas of technolo-

gy, business and design.

THE TRADE PUBLICATION

FOR BROADCAST PRODUCTION

@newscaststudio

EDITORIAL

FOUNDER & PUBLISHER

MICHAEL P. HILL

EDITOR IN CHIEF

DAK DILLON

FEATURES EDITOR

JACOB BILLINGSLEY

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Getting up to speed on FAST

The market’s red hot and there’s a lot to keep track of

More viewers love FAST TV,

advertisers are following suit

A competitive FAST offering gives broadcast and cable companies

an opportunity to appeal to advertisers with innovative new offerings

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