As consumers continue to cancel their streaming subscriptions, many are looking towards free ad-supported channels to get their entertainment fix.
Having emerged in recent years, Free Ad Supported Streaming TV (FAST) offers audiences free-to-view content, which can be tailored to increasingly niche tastes. The familiar linear nature of FAST also means it is quickly becoming an easy replacement for traditional TV in cord-cutting households.
The opportunity that FAST offers advertisers is unique when compared to other CTV options. It is no wonder that ad spend is predicted to reach $506 million in the UK by 2027 or that even YouTube is exploring launching FAST options. Ed Wale, VP Europe at LG Ad Solutions, explains why FAST offers advertisers an effective way to reach viewers via the largest screen in the house.
It’s incredibly rare that consumers get something for nothing, particularly in our current climate. In CTV, subscription-based streaming services have dominated consumers’ viewing habits for several years, but as the macroeconomic situation puts pressure on the wallets of audiences, habits are shifting.
Over two million viewers made the decision to cancel one of their subscription video on demand (SVoD) services last year. While audiences haven’t lost their appetite for content, they are instead broadening the horizons of where, and how, they get it.
One answer for consumers is Free Ad-supported Streaming Television (FAST). As the name suggests, these are free to users and supported by ads. To audiences, these channels are more similar to linear TV than other streaming video options.
FAST channels - sometimes in the hundreds - are often grouped together into a single platform, and offer a full guide of pre-scheduled programming. For advertisers, this shift is a major opportunity to connect with engaged audiences.
Already 15% of the UK online viewers have made watching FAST a weekly habit. As the options available to audiences begin to expand, these numbers will only rise, and it is predicted that ad spend on FAST will reach $506 million in the UK by 2027.
It has even been forecasted that traditional streaming platforms will get in on the action, Yahoo predicts that most SVOD services will invest in FASTs by the end of 2024. Amazon, for example, recently expanded its FAST options with 23 additional channels.
Unleashing the Power of FAST
For audiences, the draw of FAST is obvious. As many look for savings, FAST channels offer high quality content at no cost. Two-thirds of UK audiences state that they prefer to watch ad-supported channels. While the UK has been slower to adopt FAST when compared to other markets such as the US, 14% of CTV watchers plan on adding a free ad-supported CTV service in the next 12 months.
FAST channels’ similarity to linear TV is also attractive to audiences. While on-demand streaming has revolutionised the way audiences consume content, the sheer volume can often be overwhelming.
Discoverability continues to be consumers' top issue with CTV. This makes FAST even more desirable, since it allows audiences to view a menu of high-quality, curated FAST channels, similar to digital satellite or free to air viewing experience.
For advertisers, the potential benefits of FAST channels are powerful. They combine the reach and impact of traditional TV advertising, while also enabling greater flexibility and control over ad spend thanks to the ability to buy ad slots programmatically. However, it is the advertisers’ ability to drive their FAST buying with granular data that truly elevates the channel.
Glancing at Glass-level
While TV and CTV has always allowed marketers to gain a level of insight into the impact of their spend thanks to measurements such as Barb, it has lacked granularity. However, marketers looking to buy through FAST can gain deeper insights via ACR, a privacy-first, anonymised automatic content recognition technology.
ACR goes further than just capturing impressions, instead analysing a range of factors that build a fuller picture of audiences and their habits, including information such as network, show name, and viewing time.
This technology logs data at ‘glass level’ – tracking what is appearing on audience screens – ensuring an input-agnostic approach. This allows for a holistic approach to measurement across all inputs and channels. With FAST adoption nascent but growing, ACR allows marketers to better understand audiences moving to FAST services.
With the increasing pressure on marketers to prove ROI, technologies like ACR enable marketers to better understand the incrementality of their ad campaigns. Frequency management, ad completion rates and conversions such as tune-in, app downloads, web traffic, location behaviour, and even purchase can all be measured, letting marketers effectively optimise their campaigns.
Discovering Audiences at Lightning Speed
Contextual targeting of advertisements to specific content has long been utilised in TV and CTV to ensure messaging resonates with audiences. FAST channels also allow for this, but moreover they present an opportunity for channels to be created rapidly and tailored to timely situations – such as sporting tournaments or major events, making the channel itself contextually relevant to a given moment in time..
With 78% of audiences stating that they prefer CTV ads that are relevant to their interests, there is pressure on marketers to ensure that they are delivering the right message in the right environment to audiences.
Targeting can be further driven by the insights gained from deterministic channel and audience data, along with supplementary industry insights. This allows for finely-tuned targeting on FAST, but also a holistic, multi-touch approach that can effectively target audiences across environments.
As the adoption of FAST continues to snowball with audiences, marketers need to ensure they are ready to take advantage of this exciting new format. Not only does it offer yet another way to reach audiences via the biggest screen in the household, but the granular measurement and targeting it provides ensures that marketers can reach audiences with even greater precision.
