FAST Company: How to Compete in a Crowded FAST Landscape
As more premium content studios take FAST (free ad-supported streaming television) seriously and the number of channels grows, how can independent streamers compete with their more limited budgets and content offerings? Is it more than finding and focusing on a niche? Independent Streaming Alliance co-founders Floris Bauer from Gunpowder & Sky and Tim Ware from Crackle Connex discuss both their individual and collective strategies for surviving, thriving, and monetizing with Streaming Made Easy’s Marion Ranchet in this clip from Streaming Media NYC.
Ranchet notes the initial reluctance of content holders to open their libraries and the increasing competition in the FAST landscape. She wonders how FAST channels can compete with big studios entering the FAST ecosystem.
In the beginning, Bauer says, “I made the mistake of thinking that FAST was the new cable, and now I realize that you're not competing with the former cable channels because they were only 200 or 300 channels. In this world, you compete with 100,000 YouTube, Twitter, Twitch, and gaming channels. So there are way more options. So, your channel and your brand need to be super clear.” He outlines how Gunpowder & Sky has segmented its content offerings into sci-fi, aliens, and paranormal categories, with distinct brand names and logos.
Ranchet agrees and says that today, users need to be able to click through programming menus and understand immediately what they will get from a provider, and the more specific, the better. “We're not looking for Netflix within FAST,” she says. “So I think that's one of the mistakes they're making.”
Ware emphasizes the issues with representation for independent streamers and why the Independent Streaming Alliance, comprised of 15 independent streaming companies, is essential. “We're not owned by a big hardware manufacturer or media company,” he says. “And the challenges and opportunities that we face” need to be collectively addressed, which includes promoting a channel's value and preserving its business model, distribution challenges, and measurement issues.
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