(Continued From Page 20) 22 nels over the last few years there are signs that U.S. platforms are rationalizing their FAST channel offerings by off-boarding the underperforming channels. This ‘shakeout’ could become more widespread. “Although the market growth of FAST channels outside of the U.S. is encouraging, it is still a long way behind, so in the short term, it is unlikely there will be supply issues.” As to the question of how FAST channels replenish their schedules, Alan Wolk, analyst for the U.S.-based TVREV, specializing in the intersection of streaming and advertising, commented: “This is a problem because streaming services are no longer making the sort of eight season, 25-episodes-per-season series the networks did — an output level that allowed for these sorts of massive libraries. One solution will likely be curated playlists from YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok that recreate the scrolling experience without actually having to scroll — the videos will appear one after another and be grouped by genre.” Wolk, who created the acronym FAST (see sidebar) then continued: “We will see more standardization among FAST channels as advertisers want to know that [for example] a horror channel they buy on The Roku Channel is identical to the one they buy on Pluto TV. That is how they will be able to reach larger audiences in a manner that makes it easy for them to compare results.” He continued: “We will [also] see much greater integration of linear and on-demand so that viewers can move seamlessly from one way of watching to the other. The art of programming — deciding the order and timing of shows — is something it seems AI will excel at. If not to actually undertake the entire process, then at least to make it easier for the humans doing it.” Ultimately, technology induces media outlets to “pivot,” explained Gary Shapiro in his book Pivot or Die. Shapiro is the CEO of the Consumer Technology Association, which organizes the annual Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show. In his book, Shapiro uses the example of Odeo, a search engine startup that, facing its demise, pivoted into Twitter. Another example given is Netflix, which was once a DVD rental business, but eventually pivoted into streaming. The book demonstrates that technology can lead to the demise of some media outlets, but stresses that it also offers a way for them to evolve into something else. Other examples could be printed books, radio, and even linear television, with FAST as the new pivot between broadcast television and streaming services. And, as Twitter and Netflix did, FAST will also go through some growing pains before finding its mojo, and the conferences about FAST at TV trade shows will also finally find some interesting and useful topics to present. (By Dom Serafini) Mark Ashbridge, managing director, VAMedia Alan Wolk, TVREV “Although the market growth of FAST channels outside of the U.S. is encouraging, it is still a long way behind, so in the short term, it is unlikely there will be supply issues.” — Mark Ashbridge, VA Media From Flixes to FAST: Alan Wolk Recalls Tom Ryan (pictured on the cover), CEO of Paramount Streaming, is the acknowledged creator of the first FAST channel in 2014, originally defined as a free TV linear video service. The service eventually became Pluto TV, a digital platform Ryan co-founded that was sold to Paramount in 2019. A year earlier, the service that Ryan pioneered became known as FAST, a term coined by TV analyst Alan Wolk. Here’s how Wolk described the acronym: “I came up with the [FAST] term in December 2018. At the time, I was trying to find a way to differentiate between Pluto (which was free) and Hulu (which was not), given that both were streaming services and that too many people were lumping them together as ‘AVoD’ even though they were two separate business models. So I wrote out ‘Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV’ to describe Pluto and realized that you could make an acronym out of it — FAST.” He continued: “At the time, we often referred to ‘the FASTs and the Flixes’ — none of the proposed subscription media services had names yet, so everyone would refer to them as ‘Disney-Flix’ or ‘AppleFlix.’ But FAST took off.” In his mind, “it has always referred to the aggregator services — Pluto, Tubi, The Roku Channel, Samsung TV Plus, et al. — and not just the linear channels. Though many people do use it to refer to linear channels,” he said. “That usage is problematic, though, in that it is only in the licensing world where the rights to linear channels and on-demand are sold separately. For advertising, a Pluto or VIZIO WatchFree does not distinguish between an on-demand and a linear show. Similarly, the SVoD (subscription) services are all launching/have launched their own linear channels as a way to surface their library content. It also makes sense for their ad-supported tiers, in that people watch much longer when they are watching a linear feed.” Finally, he said, “In terms of aggregators, there are two types of FAST aggregators: services attached to media companies (e.g. Pluto and Tubi) and services attached to OEMs (e.g. Samsung TV Plus, The Roku Channel), each with its own set of challenges and opportunities.” VIDEOAGE January 2025 FAST Future
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