TV Manufacturers Aren't Moving FAST Enough For Some Programmers
Plus, a potential challenge for brands on YouTube - on TV
The free ad-supported TV business has been taking off over the past few years, thanks to ‘FAST’ leaders like Tubi, Pluto, and Xumo, as well as a slew of free channel packages offered by the likes of TV makers such as Samsung and Vizo and LG.
Some burgeoning media companies would like things to move a lot faster.
To date, many of the FAST channels/services have gained prominence essentially through a CTV land grab. For instance, Tubi and Pluto make sure to get featured in every TV’s app store, even before most people knew what these services are.
Meanwhile, several of the top TV manufacturers have made having free, deep channel lineups as part of their value proposition to consumers - while also looking to edge into the TV ad business without having to spend a ton on content or distribution rights.
That has generally meant throwing a lot of shows and live channels at the CTV wall.
For example:
Vizio’s WatchFree+ boasts of over 300 channels, including entries such as Crime 360, Grit (Westerns), LOL Network or Baby Shark TV
Samsung TV Plus offers over 2,600 globally, upwards of 350 in the US, including Jack Hannah Channel, Best Action TVs, Comedy King and The Pet Collective
Similarly, LG offers more than 300 FAST networks, featuring newer brands like Food 52, but also the Dragnet Channel and entire channels focused on Baywatch and Johnny Carson
As you can see, many of these channels as of the ‘just throw it on’ variety, and likely don’t require much in the way of hard core programming strategy. While Fox-owned Tubi has been edging into original shows and movies, for the most part, much of the FAST landscape can be characterized as generic and even a bit static.
There are some video programmers who want more.
Take Tastemade, which was born on YouTube, transitioned to Snap, Instagram and other social platforms, before becoming a serious CTV player, launching both live linear and on demand networks.
Because of its digital roots, Tastemade is used to pushing out new content, new ad campaigns and having them reach consumers right away, explained Evan Bregman, General Manager, Streaming at Tastemade. The company is accustomed to tweaking copy and headlines, rotating content series and being fairly strategic in its delivery.
FAST channels - for the most part - don’t work that way.
“There is a mismatch there that has to be solved,” he said. “You have Netflix , which has this relentless release of content. And you have YouTube. The question is, is the FAST market going to be like cable, or YouTube proper, where you making TV experience like a streaming app?
“FAST hasn’t matched that dynamism yet,” he said.
To be sure, Tastemade has been able to generate a solid audience by running on FAST platforms like Vizio or Samsung. But it’s more of a reach play which the company uses to hopefully convert more viewers to download the Tastemade app, subscribe on YouTube or even pay for the burgeoning Tastemade+ service.
“With FAST, you can reach a large audience quickly,” Bregman said. “And we need to put ourselves in front of customers in multiple ways.” That means Tastemade’s goals may be aligned with their FAST distribution partners, but not always.
“Want the same thing. We want relationship with the customer.”
At the heart of this discussion is really the question of, what do FAST channels want to be when they grow up? Are they destined to be always on libraries of old shows? Are they aping the cable networks model of build with reruns, then roll out originals with a distinctive brand?
Or do they want to emulate YouTube, which accommodates frequent uploads, a steady stream of fresh content, a smart algorithm, interactive elements, etc. - all of which should drive more engagement, bur requires more work?
Are the TV manufactures interested in being programmers at all, or more like cable distributors?
To be sure, TV makers and even the Tubis and Plutos of the world may not have answers to all these questions, or need to just yet. Right now, just grabbing the growign CTV ad money is pretty good business. And it’s fair to ask, how many Tastemades are there out there? Maybe tons of free shows, old or not, are enough to make lots of users happy.
“The FAST marketplace is in a very similar place to maturity to where cable once was,” Bregman said. “Cable networks started with reruns, then competed on brand. In FAST, original content is the toughest step, now that the gold rush is over.”
A Family Affair
The Google Anti-Trust Trial has nearly reached it’s conclusion, so it’s a good time to check in on just how well or how badly it’s all been going, depending upon your perspective of course. So I talked with my brother from another mother, Digiday’s Ronan Shields, about where things stand, and where they might be headed, on my podcast this week. Check it out!
Not Ready For Primetime (Ads)?
I was lucky enough to speak at an event in New York yesterday hosted by Precise.TV focused on YouTube’s ascendancy in CTV. Among the many topics discussed was whether brands and media buyers consider YouTube content to be “as good as TV” and thus worthy of TV budgets. Predictably, the answers ran the gamut.
YouTube has made its latest push in that direction, with a revamped app experience designed to make viewing on smart TVs feel more seamless, and well Netflixy, you might say. For example, the new YouTube TV experience helps creators presents content in the form of episodic seasons.
That should theoretically help more marketers feel at ease moving more TV dollars toward YouTube, except for perhaps one catch - the ads themselves. Several panelists at yesterday’s event mentioned that having ads developed for social video platforms like YouTube end up running on TV screens gave them pause.
“Form factor matters,” said Riki Nakasuji, who leads Brand Marketing Content Strategy at Salesforce. “YouTube’s growth on TV took us by surprise. We’re still trying to figure that out.”
And right now, the creative aspect is something of a challenge, he added.
Devin McGuire, Manager, Global Marketing at ASICS Digital, theorized that certain design elements of web video ads may not always translate or work as well on YouTube on TV screen. “I’m often wondering, ‘does the creative work on TV? Do we need a voiceover?’ things like that’”
Sounds like the perfect new job for an AI ad tech startup - TV-ifying social video ads.