FAST channel experts gave an insight into the rapid evolution of one of the latest developments at an IBC2023 session entitled ‘Thriving in the FAST Lane’.

The session, which focused on what has been learned about making successful FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) channels work, included Patrick Courtney, SVP, Streaming & Business Development, Fuse Media, who said: “We have learned what content was working and what wasn’t and developed a strategy which matches premiere content with premiere advertising.”

D2 FAST-Forum

(L-R): Marion Ranchet, Found, The local Art Consultancy; Patrick Courtney, SVP, Streaming & Business Development, Fuse Media; Valerio Motti, VP FAST Channels, Fremantle; Stefan van Engen, VP, Content and Programming and Partnerships, Xumo; and Rachel Koehler, VP Original Content, TUBI

“We had a pay-TV linear sales team and simply brought our FAST stream into that. We go in and say ‘here’s our pay-TV and here’s our FAST offer, what are you looking for?”

The panel discussed key strategies such as creating brand names for channels that are likely to resonate with audiences and creating strong channel brands.

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Stefan van Engen, VP, Content and Programming and Partnerships, Xumo, added that initially they approached content owners and simply asked: ‘Hey, do you want to reach emerging audiences? Experiment with channelisation of your content?’ and this just resonated with people producing short form, which wasn’t monetising very well on YouTube.”

Valerio Motti, VP FAST Channels, Fremantle, offered some advice. “Running a lot of channels for different platforms results in a lot of complex data analysis, which means that it’s difficult to feed that information effectively back to the programming side of the operation.”

Rachel Koehler, VP Original Content, TUBI, described her strategy: “We have a light ad load for the audience of five minutes and for the advertisers we provide key insights into how the advertising is working. So it adds up to a beautiful marriage.”

Read more IBC2023 Live Blog: All the news, launches and insight from the RAI Amsterdam