View TV Studios and excellent Entertainment with exclusive distribution on FAST Channels
View TV Studio channels and content distribution is highlighted with Kapang
Many things in life are cyclical. As the past few years have shown us, this includes how we watch TV.
Not too long ago, streaming services were lauded as the future of television because of their on-demand, binge-friendly and commercial-free formats. But the recent rise in FAST services takes us back to linear, passive and ad-supported channels. FAST channels are increasing in volume and consumer preference on platforms where they are available.
What can View TV Studios do?
For that unfamiliar, FAST stands for free, ad-supported television played in a linear format with a guide, similar to cable’s or satellite’s layout and guide.
Variety VIP+ cites 2020 as the year FAST took off, and the trajectory since then has been astounding. As an early provider of FAST channels, Plex has sourced data from an internal analytics dashboard analyzing billions of minutes of programming. This data shows just how rapidly it continues to advance. FAST content consumed was just 6% of the total in 2020, versus 30% of all Plex content in 2022. Over a billion minutes have been watched since January 1 of this year—the rough equivalent of 2,500 years of content if consecutively watched.
What This Means For The Future Of Television
Industry conversations and developments tell us that many streaming platforms will go the way of CuriosityStream, abandoning the subscription model in favour of FAST across as many platforms as possible, driving revenue on existing content libraries. The unit economics of a $5 to $10 subscription doesn’t make much sense if, on average, you are paying $50 to $75 to acquire a subscriber, and they churn out in six to nine months.
The model provides many opportunities for content providers and platforms but also challenges. Platforms are once again having to plan to program rather than letting consumers select on demand. It also assumes that consumers will continue to have an appetite for whatever content is programmed. It’s important to remember that on-demand options surged for a reason.
