FAST Channel: A Streaming Guide

In 2022, global internet penetration reached a new high. According to statistics, around 5.07 billion people worldwide use the internet nowadays, accounting for approximately 63.5% of the global population. It is expected to expand even further in 2023. And, as connectivity spreads, linear TVs are being rapidly supplanted by network devices that offer FAST channels

Many linear TV companies are now eager to switch to FAST because of its massive potential. This blog is for you if you want to build your own FAST channel! We’ll go over all you need to know about planning content for your FAST channel in this article. So, let’s get started!

So, what exactly does FAST stand for? It is an abbreviation for free ad-supported streaming TV services. It’s similar to a regular linear TV channel, but for OTT and CTV platforms. A FAST channel is free to watch and is monetized by advertisements.

The services can be delivered on-demand or, increasingly, as a linear channel utilizing VOD content. Pluto TV, Tubi, Peacock, IMDbTV, Roku TV, Xumo and Samsung TV+ are the most popular FASTs.

The FAST channel is quickly gaining popularity because it is free to watch, does not require a dedicated set-up like cable or Pay TV, and offers a wide range of linear and on-demand content to consumers. People find it to be a convenient option for traditional Pay TV because it offers hundreds of free-to-view and 24/7 access to channels without the need for a cable connection.

FASTs are not a new concept; AVOD (advertising-supported video on demand) has been around for years, and it is anticipated that more than $25 billion will be spent on AVOD commercials by 2025. FAST expands its ad-supported video content offering by leveraging dynamically inserted commercials to distribute linear channels to connected devices for free to anyone who wants to watch.

FAST should be considered by broadcasters, distributors or content creators because it can help them create a large subscriber base. Because FAST is known for giving a superior user experience, providing customized content to an audience can assist distributors in increasing the number of users.

Distributors can set up their own FAST channel and distribute material from their current SVOD or AVOD libraries. They can also build short-form content channels. FAST channels are simple to develop and launch. It opens up an opportunity to exploit older material collections to create specific FAST channels for revenue generation and premium content subscriptions.

These additional channels can be built using assets from your current SVOD or AVOD libraries. Some channel originators are building channels out of short-form content that would normally be delivered through platforms like YouTube and using it on FAST channels because it adds to their suite of personalized channels and because the channels can be created quickly and easily with the right channel origination platform.

FASTs expand the reach of your content library and help you grow a larger subscriber base by providing more customized user experience. More distributors are repurposing their previous material collections to create specific FAST channels that can be used to generate income as well as drive subscriptions to more premium content.

Comcast Advertising research, which resulted in a report that discovered that household penetration of free ad-supported streaming TV, or FAST, has more than quadrupled in the last year. Six in ten homes with smart TVs now use Rapid services, making it a fast climber in streaming advertising—a industry that, according to eMarketer, is estimated to exceed $30 billion in ad spend by 2024.

People are spoiled for choice when it comes to live streaming video online. However, not all content is appropriate for every platform. Something you want is on one station and something else is on another.

To watch both, you’ll need a subscription to both sites where they’re available for streaming. This will increase your expenses. If you want to watch extra live streaming content on a third platform, you will also require a subscription. The expense would continue to rise.

FAST is quickly becoming the preferable option because it frees customers from the constraints of subscriptions and allows them to see material on numerous platforms/channels.

FAST provides linear channels that are sponsored by advertisements, in contrast to AVOD, which refers to streaming services that give their users the choice to watch any content in their video library on demand in exchange for seeing advertisements.

The sole distinction is that it is live TV content that is funded by advertisements rather than on-demand video. Through various forms of content and the usage of advertisements to sell their inventory, AVOD and FAST accomplish the same objective.

Let’s explore the various FASTs service categories in the market.

• Platform Agnostic – FASTs that work with different operating systems regardless of the platform they are running on. Pluto TV, Peacock, Roku, and Xumo are a few examples.

• Platform Exclusive – FASTs that can only be used with a single specific operating system. Examples include Vizio Watch free, Samsung TV+, and LG.

FAST channels help make it a little bit easier for businesses to give their target viewers the best viewing experience possible. In addition to gaining new and non-endemic viewers, traditional broadcasters get the potential to reach more of their local audience, more frequently, and on more devices.

Platforms now have the chance to utilize all of the unused content in their collection thanks to the availability of free content. To increase views or impressions on the site, several networks offer inactive content as free to watch. As a result, compared to subscriptions, ad-supported television is growing more quickly in terms of users and overall consumption.

An entire linear audience can be targeted with FAST streaming. Reaching a new audience who is looking for free material and has their memberships maxed out is easier when more content is made available for viewing without paying a subscription cost.

By providing a combination of TV shows and on-demand material, you will increase your chances of attracting a TV audience to your on-demand platform. By reaching out to additional audiences and increasing the number of viewers on their platform, this gives platforms the chance to gain awareness.

The OTT platform’s ad-supported content is provided free of charge to users, which will only increase the platform’s ad revenue. Your OTT channel will have more breaks if there are more channels. Additionally, there will be additional advertisements to be broadcast in between breaks. Undoubtedly a fantastic method for generating ad revenues.

To establish a business that offers a higher-value ad inventory, use libraries that already exist and are made up of older assets. Because advertising on a FAST channel can be targeted to a highly specialized and well-defined audience, the CPM for ads on a FAST channel is frequently about twice as high as the CPM for a linear channel.

There is a good possibility that the service’s viewers will utilise it more if both the content and the advertising are pertinent. According to studies, relevant advertisements are less upsetting than non-relevant ones. Therefore, a healthy combination of useful information and appropriate advertisements.

Utilize FAST channels as a free, reasonable service to increase reach and give you a user base from which you can recruit subscribers or encourage them to upgrade to premium content.

Make the user interface and user experience more engaging by using FAST channels. You may do this by having the FAST Channel automatically start when a user accesses the service.

Any niche or category channel tailored to a particular audience gives assets that might not be easily accessed in the overall catalogue a “second life” and enables you to monetize your longtail content library.

Some viewers are just difficult to reach with traditional TV, hesitant to using subscription services, or frustrated with browsing through countless content libraries. If the offered content appeals to them, FAST Channel services may help convert non-TV users into FAST Channel subscribers.

Your content is the first step towards creating an engaging FAST Channel. FAST channels offer a vehicle for the distribution of various forms of material, from news to sports to niche content, due to their reasonable and highly monetizable nature.

Curators of linear TV material can quickly reuse their old content by using FAST channels. They can rebroadcast their previously aired content on FAST, allowing viewers to catch up on missed episodes and stream their preferred content repeatedly.

Localizing your content in the target languages is the first step to success in the European markets. Instead of only using subtitles for the programmes, think of dubbing them into a regional European tongue.

Pluto and other popular FAST TVs are successful because they were able to localise their programming for many markets. Consider adding more regional stuff as well. Other effective content ideas include local news and shows that your target audience will like watching.

The next step in your journey is picking the best partner to launch your FAST Channel. Do some research on the enterprise, its partners and integrations, and the screens on which they can display your channel. Even if you have the world’s largest content library, you can’t distribute it on your own; you need a partner.

It’s simple yet challenging to launch your FAST channel at the same time. Gizmott makes it simple by allowing you to rapidly start your own FAST channel without the need for any additional software infrastructure.

It takes more than just putting your current video-on-demand (VOD) assets together to present your content in a linear fashion. Depending on the type of content you have, your audience, and the relevancy of the content itself to your audience, there are obvious decisions to be made.

And after choosing the kind of content, you’ll need to reorganize it according to its type and genre, which will make it easier for you to schedule your content library effectively.

You may keep many steps ahead of the competition with the aid of marketing and advertising. By using advertising, you can make sure that potential clients are continually informed about your channel. To promote FAST channels, traditional and digital advertisements must be used.

The key enabling technology for achieving a smooth playout of advertising that makes FAST channels feel like a Broadcast is SSAI (Server-Side Ad Insertion). With the additional step of retrieving advertising from the ad network when necessary for ad insertion, SSAI is built on the same technologies that enable linear streaming playback from VOD media.

Analytics is an essential tool that can assist you in determining the types of content that your audience prefers to view. Additionally, it will assist you in determining which content has a chance of receiving repeated views.

By doing this, you’ll make sure your channel is reaching its full potential, but you also need to measure this by gathering data analytics to understand how it’s doing. Additionally, the study will show you which advertisements are well received by your audience as well as what kinds of content are successful.

Though it hasn’t been that long, the FAST market is expanding quickly. It has been a lucrative market niche for many participants, with many major platforms, more than 500 distinct channels, and billions of dollars in ad income.

Launching your own FAST channel to take a piece of that enormous revenue opportunity is simple if you take advantage of the value of your current content collection and work with a few strategic partners.

So, if you’re a broadcaster or content distributor looking to launch your own FAST Channel, Gizmott can help you! Gizmott makes it possible to launch FAST channels by combining a workflow of the essential elements.

The best way to build FAST channels, monetize them, and broadcast them on your own platform is with Gizmott. Get in touch with us or drop us a line at info@gizmott.com right away.