The Brandification of FAST

The U.S. FAST market is a quickly evolving space.

There have been a constant stream of innovations in the last few years as channels and services seek to attract maximum viewers. Free ad-supported streaming TV channels have gone from being playlists of four to six hours to seeing a majority of content airing within a day being single-run.

Single IP channels have become a force across the world for attracting an audience. As the Variety Intelligence Platform special report “Life in the FAST Lane” notes, exclusive channels are increasingly being wielded as a way to differentiate channel offerings, too.

Add the brandification of FAST to that list.

This refers to the increasing number of channels that feature branding from TV networks, movie studios or streaming services. VIP+’s analysis shows the number of channels employing this has increased by 80 in the past three years, representing a growth rate of 66%.

This is notable for several reasons. A major one is it points to a shift in how entertainment companies see FAST. A couple of years ago, many channels were deliberately left unbranded, as media firms wanted to reduce potential confusion for a consumer seeing, for example, an AMC-branded channel that wasn’t AMC.

That no longer seems to be an issue, with companies seeking to utilize their brand parity. A good example here would be A+E Networks, which added network names to many of its existing FAST channels within the last year or so — e.g., “Cold Case Files” becoming “Cold Case Files Presented by A&E.”

Additionally, some companies went so far as to invent totally new brands for FAST. Sony created the “Cineverse” brand for its movie channels, while Lionsgate went for “MovieSphere.” “Cineverse” remains, but “MovieSphere” has become “MovieSphere by Lionsgate,” with the “-Sphere” suffix being utilized across newly released “HerSphere by Lionsgate” and “OuterSphere by Lionsgate” as a branding tool.

The implication here for the format is one that suggests a radically different world than two years ago. Back then, FAST was seen as the great leveler for content, where low operating costs meant niche interests could finally have channels dedicated to them and independent producers and content owners could operate their own channels.

There will still be an element of this within FAST. Independent brands such as FilmRise, Gunpowder & Sky and Trusted Media Brands will remain key parts of FAST. But smaller channels will struggle to attract attention, with so many entertainment brands having built-in awareness, (especially when considering the rise of single IP channels as well, which are also familiar brands to compete for viewers), and likely be dropped by FAST services. 

It’s not all bad news for these channels, as their content will probably be acquired by larger channels — think sharks eating the minnows — while they themselves look for more content in order to refresh their lineups.

One easy prediction is that this trend will grow. NBCU has already begun to distribute more branded channels, A+E Networks has announced plans for more, and Warner Bros. Discovery can be expected to jump deeper into FAST. Then there’s the inevitable Netflix FAST entrance.

Branded channels are also great for attracting new viewers, adding validity to FAST lineups (as Pluto TV demonstrated when it sparked the great FAST revolution in 2019 by adding what were then Viacom brands to its offered channels).

With FAST services built into practically every new smart TV, as well as featured within Comcast Xfinity boxes, and VMVPD services having included FAST channels for years (see page 35 in our previous FAST report), standing out by providing the familiar is a strategy that will only continue amidst the battle for view time.

Now dig into the data-filled VIP+ subscriber report ...