How TV’s 2023 Average Live Primetime Audiences Show FAST is Undervalued

When I set out to satisfy my curiosity around the annual round of TV viewership figures, I promise that I did not set out to find a way to link it to FAST. I worked in entertainment research for close to a decade before joining Variety VIP+, where I took that affinity for TV and made it one of the areas that I covered.

But I have noticed that whenever I post something positive about FAST, there are some within the TV industry who seem to knock or sneer at it. So, as I was sitting there, analyzing the fantastic data that Tony Maglio, M.S. (Journalism), MBA had published, a couple of thoughts popped into my head about the industry at large.

First, FAST and traditional TV are symbiotic. As anyone who's read my work can tell you, I am a strong believer in how FAST offers amazing revenue potential for TV libriaries (as well as those making unscripted originals) and that content stems from TV. Yet some within TV seem to view FAST as a threat or an overhyped fad, versus something that can help to create additional revenues.

Second, FAST remains criminally undervalued by advertisers. Tell me another medium that sees viewership rise but ad rates fall. A lot of this is self-inflicted by various parts of the FAST industry as no platform shares data and so there is an absence of tangible data for advertisers. Yet the adverting press is also not doing a very good job of explaining what FAST is to its audience. There's no Ad Age equivalent for me at Variety evangelizing and informing. Now, the likes of Xumo & Comcast Ads are seeking to address this by conducting research I've designed to try and clarify how many people regularly watch FAST and who they are (more than half have cable, for instance) but this is something that the industry as a whole needs to do more of frequently to help advertisers and their clients understand that reaching 10 million people on a platform like The Roku Channel is a much better arrangement than reaching 2 million people on Netflix with ads.

As I was looking at the average primetime audience figures for cable, it hit me. 62 of cable networks see an average of fewer than 150,000 viewers watching live in primetime. Surely there might be some FAST networks that would rival that?

So I made some calls, off the record for now, with a number of senior executives at big media companies who are succeeding in FAST and was told that yes, they all have seen FAST channels with that level of viewership. (The issue is proving it given how platforms seem to miss the Cold War and are locking away data like it is no tomorrow).

But think about that for a second: There are many high-profile FAST channels out there which see similar viewership to many cable networks.

Why is the industry in its own way here?

This to me is the narrative FAST needs to prove. If the platforms can work cohesively with each other, forming an independent and neutral data body, profits would soar as the case would be easy to make that FAST not only has reach, but is reaching desirable audiences.

Think of it another way. Hallmark Drama averaged 80k primetime viewers in 2023. I'd bet that the FAST Hallmark Movies & More did at least double that (of course, the FAST channel collects no carriage fees).

Another lens to view this by is that of evolution, namely survival of the fittest. Many VMVPDs and now some MVPDs include FAST channels in their channel guides now. If a network like Cooking Channel is only averaging 80k and requires a carriage fee, what's stopping a pay TV provider from not renewing the carriage deal when its up and opting to carry Tastemade and Gusto TV, which offer similar original content but on a revenue split deal instead?

Consider this in a third way. Bravo currently has 6 FAST channels available:

• Bravo Below Deck (Peacock)

• Bravo Million Dollar Listing Vault (Freevee, Peacock, Samsung TV Plus, TCL TV+, Xumo Play)

• Bravo Real Housewives Vault (Freevee, Peacock, TCL TV+, Xumo Play)

• Bravo Top Chef Vault (Freevee, Peacock, TCL TV+, Xumo Play)

• Bravo Vanderpump Rules (Peacock)

• Bravo Vault (Freevee, TCL TV+, Xumo Play)

Rolling these up for a total Bravo FAST audience would be a great way to show reach to advertisers. A pipedream for now, but some day soon I hope we can see precisely this for all distributors of FAST, enabling us to compare both FAST to cable cousins but also to show how a FilmRise, Cineverse or other independent operators fare.

The key issue FAST faces in 2024 is that of awareness. Make advertisers aware of what FAST can offer, and how it compares with traditional TV, and revenues will increase. That will require cohesion and companies working together but it's high time for some level of that. The alternative is for FAST to remain undervalued for another year or two, leaving money on the table instead of in the bank.