The Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television (FAST) ecosystem has undergone a dramatic shift in the past two years. This coincides with the significant investments of major US studios in building robust FAST channel portfolios. Notably, FAST only emerged as a prominent topic within the media landscape following Paramount's acquisition of Pluto TV in 2019. Soon after, Fox and Comcast followed suit by acquiring Tubi and Xumo, respectively.
Beyond these platform acquisitions, tier-one content owners initially exhibited a slower adoption rate of FAST as a potential revenue stream. During FAST’s early stages of development, Studios were preoccupied with the growth of SVOD and the subsequent fortunes of their own D2C SVOD services. However, with current economic conditions impacting audience behaviour, pressure on the SVOD model and a rethink by major studios on their overall strategy, ad-supported streaming has experienced a resurgence. Consequently, major studios are now actively participating in the FAST market. This article, the first in a series focusing on US studios, will analyse the FAST portfolios of these key players, examining their content offerings and market positioning.
Scripted vs. Unscripted Content
While unscripted programming dominates the broader FAST market, with a ratio exceeding 3:1 to scripted content, a key advantage emerges for US studios. This dominance of unscripted content likely stems from its extensive back catalogs, which are well-suited to the continuous, low-cost programming model of FAST. However, US studios possess a significant advantage due to their ownership of a vast library of premium scripted content.
Excluding Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), all other major US studios exhibit a more balanced portfolio within the FAST landscape. Notably, more than a third of their channels feature scripted programming. Amazon MGM, Lionsgate, and Sony capitalise most effectively on this advantage, distributing a majority of their content through scripted channels.
Furthermore, the prevalence of single-IP channels, accounting for roughly 30% of the entire FAST market, suggests that US studios are actively leveraging their well-recognised intellectual property. Once again, with the exception of WBD, all major studios boast over a third of their channels dedicated to this category. Studios like Amazon MGM, Lionsgate, and NBCU dedicate a significant portion of their offerings to individual shows or series.
Warner Bros. Discovery takes a different stance
WBD has emerged as a significant player within the US FAST market, securing prominent distribution deals with Freevee, Tubi, and Roku. However, their strategic approach deviates from that of other major studios. WBD priorities thematic channels and unscripted content, leveraging the widely recognised WBTV brand across nearly all their offerings. This strategy provides clear signposting for audiences seeking high-quality content from a trusted brand.
Intriguingly, WBD opts not to promote the popular broadcast brands that contribute programming to these channels. While their genre channels often reflect highly rated shows from well-known networks like Discovery, TLC, and ID, the WBTV brand takes centre stage in FAST. This contrasts with competitors like NBCUniversal, which heavily utilises the Bravo brand, or Sony Pictures Entertainment, which primarily utilises the Sony One brand. Paramount Global, on the other hand, dedicates channels directly to established networks like MTV, Nickelodeon, BET, and Comedy Central alongside their Pluto TV channels.
Studios expansion into other markets is slow and more considered
Paramount Global remains the dominant player within the FAST market, leveraging not only its extensive studio content library but also its well-established Pluto TV platform. This owned-and-operated (O&O) business, an early mover in the FAST space, has consistently expanded its reach over the years, solidifying Paramount Global's position as a leader.
Other US studios have been more cautious about international expansion, initially prioritising entry into other English-speaking territories. Sony Pictures Entertainment recently bolstered its presence in Europe by launching a significant number of channels under the Sony One brand, having previously focused on the US and Latin American markets. Notably absent from the broader FAST landscape is Disney, which has yet to launch dedicated FAST channels beyond retransmitted local news stations and the National Geographic programming.
A future article will explore the distribution strategies adopted by US studios and the gradual international expansion of their FAST operations. However, it is clear that US studios are making continuous investments into the sector, fostering its evolution into a more premium and lucrative media segment. This trend is further underscored by the recent announcement of Nielsen ratings for Lionsgate's MovieSphere channel. Given the consistently high volume of premium, and often Oscar nominated, films populating this channel, it is clear to see why movie channels such as MovieSphere are some of the most popular in the market.
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