It’s a New World – Ad Funded AVOD and FAST Platforms

AVOD (Advertising-Based Video on Demand) and FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV) platforms are booming

As cash strapped consumers look for cheaper alternatives to subscription services advertisement-funded AVOD (Advertising-Based Video on Demand) and FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV) platforms are booming. AVOD platforms (ad-supported video on demand) provide an on demand and personalised service with a broad content library, while FAST (free ad supported TV) channels bring back the nostalgia of linear TV with scheduled programming.

It is interesting to note that a large part of the population, perhaps mainly younger members do not have an appetite or perhaps funds to pay for media services; music, film or TV. A recent report stated that three quarters of people under 35 years of age would never, in their lifetime, pay for any music content or performance whatsoever; one questions if that report was before the phenomenon that is Taylor Swift!

If filmmakers cannot get their movies distributed on conventional channels or where they want to maximise their potential, AVOD and FAST offer alternate platforms. A lower budget feature with little known talent will find it hard to get onto the streaming channels. So, how will it find an audience, recoup costs, and make a profit? Consequently, AVOD and FAST channels are fast becoming attractive propositions; according to 3Vision there are now over 450 FAST platforms.

Two in three content users in the US are using FAST platforms in a typical month, according to Horowitz Research. Tubi, Pluto TV, Freevee, YouTube and ROKU are the most watched TV networks. The report adds that more than half of FAST users have cut down on their paid streaming services.

Another source of content for FAST channels are older films and TV productions that are gathering dust in the vaults and no longer generating revenue. Subject to the producers having legal title to the products, these channels provide a marvelous opportunity to generate new revenue.

The emergence of AVOD and FAST platforms are evidence of the ability of the media to continually re-invent itself and will cater to a huge audience hungry for content.

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