Fast TV is TV\u2019s new thing, which is a big deal, because TV loves a new thing. Remember when colour was the new thing? OK, you don\u2019t. Well, it was. Stereo came soon after. And then widescreen. And the digital era, 4K and finally streaming. It\u2019s been like that since television was invented, back when we watched the radio and the TV itself<\/em> was the new thing.<\/p>\n TV, TV everywhere …<\/span><\/p>\n So, what is Fast TV? Fast stands for free, ad-supported television, which kind of resembles old TV. That\u2019s essentially TV with all the old trimmings: a linear format, with a programmed schedule, complete with one of them fandangled electronic program guides, just like we had in streaming\u2019s before time, in the long long ago.<\/p>\n It means that alongside the static library of TV shows and movies offered by streaming services and free-to-air catchup services, you will start to see streaming \u201cchannels\u201d, though it would be more accurate to call them micro-channels. Most \u201cfast\u201d channels are single-show focused, and even those branded by genre, use only a handful of titles or seasons to populate their schedules.<\/p>\n So, rather than cable channels like Bravo, HBO or Showtime, you will see channels like MTV Reality and Nick Classics, and show-focused channels for Dynasty<\/em>, Prisoner<\/em>, The Twilight Zone<\/em>, Home and Away<\/em> and South Park<\/em>. In the US, these channels have triggered resurgences for some classic content, including The Joy of Painting<\/em> with Bob Ross and The French Chef<\/em>, hosted by Julia Child.<\/p>\n Fast channels are also used, in a sense, to market some more pricetag-attached services, such as Doctor Who Classics, a channel on the US Pluto TV service, which is effectively a promotional platform for the BBC and ITV\u2019s pay-to-subscribe service, Britbox. Other channels might offer a handful of \u201cpreview\u201d episodes of pricetag-attached original programs from corporate stablemate platforms. In the US, for example, Pluto TV has been used to market Showtime programs.<\/p>\n How much TV is too much TV? Tubi\u2019s Fast channel schedule.<\/span><\/p>\n So, what exactly does it all add up to? You\u2019re not watching an entire series, though these channels are often placed beside on-demand libraries of complete series, depending on the platform you\u2019re on. There are movie channels and sports channels on offer, but you won\u2019t see first-run blockbuster movies. And some less \u201cclassic\u201d-focused channels seem bitsy, kind of like YouTube with a schedule.<\/p>\n The channels make money – and lots of it – by offering advertising in the commercial breaks. It might be an uncomfortable return to the one thing that streaming television unshackled us from, but it comes with an unbeatable price: zilch. The F in Fast TV really does stand for free.<\/p>\n In Australia, one of the largest suites of Fast channels belongs to Pluto TV, operated by the Paramount Streaming division of Paramount Global, and offered via 10Play. This includes staple US library channels built around Baywatch<\/em>, Dynasty<\/em>, Happy Days<\/em>, Judge Judy<\/em> and Survivor<\/em>, and the talk shows The Drew Barrymore Show<\/em> and The Graham Norton Show<\/em>. There is even a channel built around the Australian classic drama Prisoner<\/em>.<\/p>\n There are Fast channels on 7plus, including channels built around First Dates Australia<\/em>, Extreme Weddings<\/em> and The Single Wives<\/em>, plus a Home and Away<\/em> channel which airs \u201cclassic\u201d episodes of the network\u2019s flagship drama. There are more than 100 channels available via the connected TV (CTV) service Plex. The IPTV service Fetch has a suite of genre-build Fast channels, including MovieSphere, Gusto TV, HauntTV, Ticker News and Fuel TV.<\/p>\n Some free streaming platforms, like Tubi, offer channels built around The Masked Singer<\/em>, Gordon Ramsay, Midsomer Murders<\/em>, plus The Jamie Oliver Channel, Court TV, Cinevault and more. Pedestrian (owned by Nine, owner of this masthead) is launching a Fast channel on October 26 on 9Now.<\/p>\n There are also Fast channel services available via connected Samsung TVs, some of which have sprung out of traditional TV parents, such as Sky News Now and Smithsonian Channel, plus a Come Dine With Me<\/em> channel, The Biggest Loser<\/em> and Fear Factor<\/em> channels, a Shark Tank<\/em> channel, a Bondi Vet<\/em> channel, Motorsport TV, Fuel TV, a PGA Tour channel, the soccer channel FIFA+ and a Breaking News channel powered by the web-based news service LeadStory.<\/p>\n In part, Fast TV grew out of streaming because it taps into the biggest structural weakness in the streaming business: the lack of a truly shared experience. One of the most substantial building blocks of traditional television is its water-cooler effect; that is, the ability to turn a shared broadcast experience into conversation the following day.<\/p>\n It might seem absurd that from a new landscape built on the idea of on-demand – whatever you want, whenever you want – sprang a new generation of linear television channels with program schedules (gasp!) in which the viewer had no control over what came next. It\u2019s old-fashioned, certainly, but it also taps into the need for an audience to watch the same thing at the same time.<\/p>\n Prisoner: an iconic TV show gets its own channel via Fast TV.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Ten Network<\/cite><\/p>\n It also reveals a more complex layer to the streaming notion of whatever you want, whenever you want: that it is, essentially, built on a falsehood. Where is Alice<\/em>? Or Boston Public<\/em>? Get Smart<\/em>, Homicide: Life on the Street<\/em>? L.A. Law<\/em>? Murphy Brown<\/em>, Northern Exposure<\/em> and even Knots Landing<\/em>? The list of classics which you can\u2019t see on streaming is not short. And when you factor in TV rights outside the US, that list doubles.<\/p>\n Understanding why Fast TV has risen to prominence is easily explained by its balance sheet. As a segment of the US TV industry, where it has been around for several years, Fast TV is already worth more than US$4 billion. Globally, closer to $7 billion. And by 2027 that figure is estimated to pass US$12 billion. And all of that without factoring in the UK, Australia and Europe, where Fast channels are only now beginning to propagate.<\/p>\n In balance sheet terms, it\u2019s hard to deny the value of Fast TV to a studio, given the library content which powers it is comparatively cheap. At the same time, streaming services like Max (n\u00e9e HBO Max) are jettisoning titles like Westworld<\/em> to recharge the program sales departments they depleted in the rush to launch streaming platforms owned and operated by studios. It can\u2019t be a coincidence either that Paramount+ dropped Star Trek: Prodigy<\/em> just before the DVD was released.<\/p>\n Pluto TV\u2019s Judge Judy channel.<\/span><\/p>\n So, what does all this mean? For more robust television businesses, like Foxtel, or top-line free-to-air and streaming services, it will erode their ability to depend on library content – that is, all the old shows – as audience drivers. There is an upside, though: dedicated channels airing old seasons of still-produced shows (such as Bondi Rescue<\/em>, Back with the Ex<\/em> or First Dates Australia<\/em>) will help drive audiences into new seasons.<\/p>\n And it\u2019s a win for free-to-air, at least in the sense that it somewhat silences the doomsayers who predicted streaming would bury its predecessor. It will, in the short term, gently bruise the profits of streaming businesses as they, and traditional free-to-air, make room for their new neighbour. And it will almost certainly satisfy audiences with a hip pocket pitch that is hard to turn down.<\/p>\n Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. <\/i><\/b>Get The Watchlist<\/i><\/b> delivered every Thursday.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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