Powering FAST channel distribution for top media companies

Free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) has been the focal point of countless customer conversations in recent years, partly due to its growing popularity as a viewing option — and also because of the evolving business dynamics content owners must navigate to achieve real success in FAST channel distribution. Kantar Media research found that 47% of U.S. households were using FAST services each week in Q3 2023, a significant increase from 24% in 2022. Fueled by the growing adoption of connected TV (CTV) devices with built-in FAST platforms, an unshakable consumer appetite, and curiosity for free easy-to-access content, FAST is gaining an increasingly important foothold in the consumer streaming mix.

With the total number of FAST channels in the US rapidly rising to almost 2,000, according to recent FASTMaster research, industry experts are beginning to question whether we may be heading toward market saturation. With a constant stream of new channel launches and portfolio additions, it’s easy to wonder if the core value proposition of FAST as a lean-back, easy-to-navigate viewing option deteriorates if consumers are overwhelmed with choice — precisely the issue many viewers may have grown frustrated with on premium on-demand services.

While many content distributors are considering whether to focus their FAST efforts on a select number of high-performing channels, major FAST platforms are becoming growingly selective about the channels they incorporate into their line up to ensure optimum viewing experiences. One question Tier 1 media, sports, and entertainment companies need to address is whether it’s worth building and running new FAST channels. For those focused on success and new revenue streams, the answer is yes. IP technology makes it quicker and cheaper than ever to reliably deliver high-quality FAST channels that really move the needle.

Major players are aggressively building out successful FAST channel distribution strategies to capture eyeballs and new revenues. Here’s what you need to know to stay up to speed:

Optimize ROI with a powerful FAST channel distribution strategy

For many media businesses, FAST is understood as an opportunity to complement existing content distribution strategies and generate additional revenues from deep content libraries. While plenty of content owners have generated modest returns on new FAST channels that offer viewers a secondary viewing option or the chance to enjoy niche, dedicated content options, some of the leading players are beginning to win big in the long-anticipated FAST gold rush. Beyond using FAST as an enticing free option to draw in viewers and drive upsell or cross-platform opportunities, media businesses are also harnessing FAST to grow their global content distribution capabilities and monetize live versioned events, connecting audiences around the world with culturally-treasured series or tailored live sports and news programming, for example. Meanwhile, advanced ad insertion and custom ad profiling are helping content owners increase targeting and ad value across their FAST channels. After all, experimentation isn’t enough anymore — Tier 1 media organizations need to achieve measurable ROI from new digital channel creation.

Ensuring rapid time-to-market and reducing the cost of new FAST channel creation is essential to meeting profitability targets. IP ecosystem technology and FAST channel distribution solutions with increasingly advanced capabilities make it more affordable for content distributors to enter the FAST market and reach their desired audience. Meanwhile, automation is enabling new possibilities for media brands to create, tailor, and launch multiple flavors of FAST channels on the fly, iterating with new versions and regional channel variants to capture local audiences or monetize live versioned events in new ways.

Increasing monetization with live content and targeted advertising

FAST is becoming widely accepted as a new normal for media consumption, playing an increasingly important role among streaming households. That means presence is vital. Ensuring your content — and perhaps more importantly, your brand — is visible on major FAST platforms, is fundamental to reaching audiences everywhere. Beyond simply having a presence and harnessing FAST as an auxiliary distribution channel for archived programming, forward-thinking players are changing the game by delivering high value live content and finding ways to monetize live versioned events via FAST services.

Automated playout solutions are enabling content owners to take primary linear channels and cost-efficiently spin up secondary and tertiary streams for FAST channel distribution without increasing headcount — engaging viewers with live and local news, sports, or other high value live content. At the same time, intelligent content replacement mechanisms allow channel distributors to seamlessly integrate both live and on-demand programming into FAST channels, meaning operators can easily introduce live segments, cut to breaking news, or re-run live recorded programming in strategic ways to maximize content value. Advanced production services and ultra low-latency IP video transport are also empowering major platforms and rights holders to customize and geographically tailor live event feeds for FAST distribution, enabling them to monetize live versioned events across any platform.

Perhaps the most important element of enhancing FAST monetization is targeted advertising. Lower performing channels often suffer from less sophisticated ad workflows with ad repetition which frustrates viewers and lowers engagement. Channel operators need to overcome technical barriers in ad insertion for all FAST channels with frequency capping systems and more nuanced targeting mechanisms. Through an IP-based ecosystem approach, media companies can harness automation and intelligent metadata and SCTE insertion capabilities for custom ad profiling and hyper-personalized advertising, even in live content scenarios.

Simplifying FAST channel distribution at scale

Creating and running any number of high-performing FAST channels is easier than many media organizations might think — and there’s a lot of revenue on the table for businesses that adopt the right technology foundations. By embracing a holistic IP ecosystem approach, content owners can streamline channel preparation, scheduling, and switching workflows to unify disparate editorial and operations teams while automating complex blackout requirements and enabling optimal downstream monetization. Meanwhile, opting for a managed, proprietary IP-based distribution network enables content owners to reduce cloud egress charges while delivering content at a global scale. From an operations perspective, choosing a technology partner that can deliver tailored support and service levels ensures media companies can scale their teams without extra headcount while retaining control and deep visibility of content distribution workflows.

So, why does FAST matter? It’s a simple, flexible means of scaling and diversifying your content offering while increasing additional revenues and growing audience reach. To optimize their FAST strategy, Tier 1 content distributors should take an IP-centric technology approach and harness automation to make digital linear channel distribution more efficient and effective than their competitors.

Find out more about new ways to drive revenue and deepen audience engagement across FAST platforms here.