FAST channels pick up speed on smart TVs

If you buy a smart TV from brands like Samsung, LG, TCL or Xiaomi, you not only get pre-installed over-the-top (OTT) services like Netflix, Prime Video or Disney+Hotstar but also a bouquet of TV channels that are ready-to-stream. These Free Ad-Supported TV (FAST) channels offering news, entertainment, food and lifestyle content have caught the fancy of advertisers as more viewers tune in to them.
Though Connected TVs (CTVs or internet-enabled smart TVs) offer advertising options such as OTTs like JioCinema, Disney+Hotstar, or Sony Liv, music apps like Spotify, YouTube, FAST channels are gaining traction as they offer a TV-like experience allowing advertisers to connect with audiences through in-stream video ads during programming breaks, said Russhabh Thakkar, founder and CEO at Frodoh World, an ad tech platform offering advertising solutions for CTVs.
FAST channel space is heating up as India’s connected TV market is expected to increase from 34 million to 45 million by the end of 2024, according to GroupM’s new report on media spends. “Besides the rapid increase in broadband connection at home and only smart TVs being sold, content has played a key role in driving this growth,” the report said.
“Today, we also have over 200 FAST channels with variety of content streaming on OTTs and OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturers) applications. The shift in content on FAST channels is also one of the reasons for people to cut the cord,” the report said.
Baskar Subramanian, chief executive of the media technology firm Amagi, that makes 78% of its revenue from the US market, 15% from Europe and the remaining from India and Asia, believes India’s media market will mimic the US where FAST channels already enjoy significant share of viewership and advertising dollar. Globally, Amagi works with big TV makers like Samsung, LG, TCL and Xiaomi to create, manage and monetize FAST channels for them.
Markets where wi-fi connected TVs exceed 15 to 20 million households become interesting for advertisers and India has crossed that critical vantage point, Subramanian said.
In the US, FAST channels are growing on the back of semi-premium content which is not user-generated. They ride on evergreen content (like Friends, Big Bang Theory, Baywatch) and on the linear TV experience where they don’t have to spend time searching for what to watch. Also, these channels are free unlike their steeply priced cable TV connections, Subramanian said. In India, cable TV isn’t pricey but cord cutters are beginning to enjoy the linear TV experience through FAST channels on CTVs. Subramanian sees FAST channels growing here given that our large TV networks already have thousands of hours of content libraries.
FAST channels work for advertisers because content is being watched on big screen TV by a household in a safe environment for brands. Thakkar said brands can also target the cord cutters here who have given up their cable TV and DTH connections.
“At the moment CTVs offer a premium, affluent audience and luxury brands like Rolex or Mercedes Benz and BMW are targeting consumers by device size, say, homes with only 65-inch smart TVs and above,” Thakkar said. However, as smart TVs become affordable and proliferate, the number of CTV households will reach 100-150 million and won’t remain premium anymore, Thakkar said.
Subramanian, however, said with 100 million CTV homes in the US, advertisers are using FAST channels for primary campaigns and not just incremental reach. CTV advertising in the US has already touched $6 billion, he added.
Why brands may latch on to FAST channels is also because they are more data-driven compared to linear TV. “Traditional linear TV relies on broad demographics for ad placement, meaning your ad might reach viewers who aren’t interested,” Thakkar said. FAST channels, on the other hand, leverage viewer data to deliver targeted ads based on their preferences and habits and are measurable.
However, unlike traditional TV, there is no independent, third-party monitoring of CTV viewership, though some tools to understand CTV audiences have been launched by Nielsen and Comscore.
“For regular TV, the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) is the official scorekeeper tracking how many people watch each channel. But with CTV, there’s no single scorekeeper yet. BARC is aware of the growing importance of CTVs and might include them in its panel in the future,” Thakkar said.