Are we all done mourning the death of the golden age of ad-free streaming? Because it’s time to move on. Rising out of the ashes of escalating subscription fees, an increasingly crowded market, fewer original hits, and a crackdown on password sharing, is FAST.
If you’re unfamiliar with FAST, it is free ad-supported streaming TV, such as Samsung TV Plus and Amazon Freevee. Simply put, FAST is linear TV in a streaming environment, with no subscription fees and no contract, but with ads.
It’s like old TV, only better. This is why.
The FAST landscape
The US is leading the way. Samsung’s eye-opening 2024 whitepaper, The FAST & the curious, reports Omdia’s projection that the FAST market will be worth $10.1bn (£7.93bn) in revenue in the US by 2027. However, the UK is catching up, with revenue expected to grow to $506m (£406m) by 2027, placing the UK second in the global market.
“We witnessed the undeniable growth of the FAST business in the US, so it has been exciting to watch audiences in the UK and Europe begin to discover this powerful new form of lean-back entertainment,” says Jamie Lynn, EVP co-production & distribution, EMEA, at Fremantle.
Viewers in the UK can enjoy more than 500 FAST channels, dominated by Samsung TV Plus, Pluto, Rakuten, and Freevee. According to Statista, there were 16.8 million FAST users in the UK in 2023, a figure expected to rise to more than 20 million users in 2027.
“The TV landscape is undergoing dynamic transformations, characterised by a significant shift in consumption models from traditional to digital,” says Kasia Jablonska, director of digital and on-demand for EMEA at BBC Studios. “FAST will play a crucial role in this process, presenting a great opportunity for media companies like BBC Studios. At the end of the day, we serve our audiences, and we follow them wherever they take us.”
And, critically, audiences like FAST. The 2022 Deloitte Insights Digital Media Trends report found that 44% of consumers preferred 12 minutes of ads per hour and no monthly subs fee, ahead of 39% who preferred to pay £10 for no ads. Put that alongside its 2023 Digital Media Trends survey reporting that 44% of respondents had cancelled at least one paid-for streaming service in the previous six months (jumping to 57% for Gen Z and 62% for millennials), and it is clear that FAST is increasingly popular with the great TV-watching public.
The FAST audience
FAST platforms know their audience: premium curated classic content in a brand-safe environment.
Think iconic TV shows such as Mad Men and Narcos, classic films, music, news, and sport, but with less emphasis on original programming. Single-show channels are also increasingly popular, with The Graham Norton Show, America’s Got Talent, and Jamie Oliver all available as dedicated channels on Samsung TV Plus.
Samsung’s own research has found that, across Europe’s big five countries, Samsung TV Plus is watched by all ages. Around a quarter of the audience (25.2%) is aged between 35-44, 20.6% are 25-34, 19.1% are 55-64, 18.3% are 45-54, 9.8% are 18-24, 4.4% are 65-69, and 2.6% are 70-plus. Additionally, in a Samsung Ads FAST 2023 study, connected TVs were the preferred device for accessing FAST, with 79% of respondents using the Electronic Programme Guide or home screen to help them discover content.
“FAST platforms’ environments are powerful tools when it comes to content discovery and marketing our content,” says David Capelli, affiliate sales and business development director, at Warner Bros Discovery Italy “With our partnership with Samsung TV Plus in Italy, we are trying to reach a curious and tech-savvy portion of our audiences; digital-first viewers that seek quality, relevance, and topicality.”
Why FAST is good news for brands
There was a time when viewers may have resented sitting through advertising. Now, though, they are willingly doing so. Consumers who use free ad-supported streaming TV have chosen to do so, and a consenting audience is much more powerful than a dissenting one.
However, FAST platforms understand ad overkill. So the good news for viewers is there are fewer ads on FAST than on traditional linear television. This is also good news for brands. Less can mean more in TV advertising. Aligning a more contextual and addressable ad experience with premium TV means brands can drive greater recall and higher engagement. It’s non-skippable too and predominantly watched on the biggest screen in the house. Campaigns can also be aligned with content categories - lifestyle, entertainment, sport and so on - to deliver more relevant content.
“On FAST, Vevo can really showcase its deep curatorial expertise, with each channel dedicated to either a genre or decade,” says Dot Levine, SVP Vevo London. “The curated, lean-back viewing experience of FAST helps us deliver relevant and timely content - making Vevo’s channels a go-to destination for premium music video.”
Free ad-supported streaming TV is taking television advertising back to the future. It is booming and, with global players like Samsung and Amazon driving its growth, it isn’t just here to stay. It is here to grow.
Download The FAST & the curious, a Samsung Ads FAST whitepaper that offers unique, actionable insights for brands wanting to add FAST to their TV strategy.