What's FAST And Why Am I Furious?

I have this theory that the more technologically advanced we have become, the more acronyms we have invented. So, I decided to test that theory by looking-up the oldest English language acronym that I could find. According to the good old Google, the oldest acronym in the English language is SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States). Sure enough, it was technology that started the whole thing. It was developed in 1879 as telegraphic code by one Walter P. Phillips from the United Press Association.

Today, technology has a literal stranglehold on the acronym world. Which brings us to today’s acronym – FAST (Free Advertiser Supported Television). This one didn’t even exist until 2019 and now, major corporations everywhere are jumping on the FAST train. FAST is sort of like a cable or satellite system with programming on multiple channels. The difference is it’s free, with plenty of commercial interruptions, and it’s watched on a streaming platform. Unlike an over-the-air TV channel or a cable/satellite service, you have to have an internet connection to watch FAST programming. So, you either need a third-party device (such as a Roku, Chromecast or Fire Stick), "smart” television set with built-in applications or a device such as a cell phone, computer or tablet connected to the internet. Once you arrive at a FAST service channel, you will have access to hundreds of programs within that one application.

It was bound to happen. Think about how much TV programming has come and gone through the years. Chances are all those old Dick Van Dyke, Dick Cavett and Dick Clark shows were just sitting around in some warehouse in the Hollywood Hills. Until home internet streaming became ubiquitous, all of that stuff was just collecting dust except for the occasional 2:00 am Time-Life infomercial, hawking the best of Johnny Carson. One day, somebody took a look at all of that stuff in the warehouse and said, "There’s gold in them there Hollywood Hills!” and that’s when FAST moved forward.

FAST services offer a wide variety of individual free channels with pre-programmed content, such as non-first-run movies, reruns of TV series and talk shows, reality shows, cooking programs, network news channels, second-tier sports and more. When you tune into a FAST Channel, it will look a lot like a cable or satellite service with its own viewer guide telling you what’s on each of its literally 100’s of individual channels. If a viewer wants to watch a particular show or movie on a FAST channel, they must tune in at a fixed time of the day. Of course, the "A" in FAST means that programming will be interrupted by ad breaks, much like a traditional TV channel.

So here is where the "furious” comes in. Consumers are getting really angry. According to a recent Scripps study, the average monthly cost to watch TV is now $146.20 a month if you include a cable or satellite subscription and premium streaming services like HBO, Showtime, Netflix, Hulu, Prime, Paramount Plus, Peacock, etc. When you add the cost of high-speed internet (which you need for streaming services), that cost travels upwards of $200 a month. There are simply too many ways to spend too much money on TV. This is causing a new American malady called, "Subscription Fatigue” which is leading to the rising phenomenon of cord-cutting. Americans are getting tired and angry over shelling out so much money every month for things that used to be, if not free, at least reasonably priced. No wonder more than 46 million US households will likely cancel their cable/satellite TV subscriptions over the next two years and replace them with streaming services like FAST.

The big corporations understand that this environment is not sustainable. Companies like Pluto (owned by Viacom), Xumo (owned by Comcast) Tubi (owned by Fox), Freevee (owned by Amazon), Stirr (owned by Sinclair), Roku Channel (owned by streaming device manufacturer Roku) and several others have all started their own FAST service. Recently, the TV manufacturers have gotten into the game. Chances are if you buy a new TV, a FAST service will be included as a native application from the TV manufacturer. So, you can say that FAST is growing – fast. In fact, the FAST industry is experiencing exponential growth. Ad revenue has already reached $2.1 billion and is projected to surpass a whopping $4.1 billion in 2023

Until recently, one FAST service was about the same as another. In other words, most of the same channels were offered on Tubi, Pluto, Stirr, etc. However, that has been changing with Roku’s The Roku Channel leading the way. Roku has been doing side-deals with program suppliers, allowing it to offer over 300 free channels (some exclusive to Roku) and a whole lot of free movies and TV shows. In fact, Roku Channel was listed as the most popular FAST service in a survey done by TiVo (yes, they're still around) last year. That news woke-up the 800-pound gorilla. Google just upped the ante by offering over 800 (not a typo) free channels on its new, upgraded Google TV.

Google’s upgrade (you’ll need a Chromecast or other Google device to get it for now) incorporates a couple of other FAST services in its new viewer guide such as Tubi, Plex and Pluto. It has also signed its own exclusive program deals. The new viewer guide is divided into groups so, for example, all the news channels are in the same area on the channel list. Users will not only be able to jump from channel-to-channel, but in some cases, you will be able to move from application-to-application. This has been the missing link in much of today’s viewing experience. For example, it’s very difficult to switch from a show on Netflix to say, a game on ESPN without going back to a home screen. And while there is still a lot of work to be done in this area, if you're a YouTube TV or Sling TV subscriber for your so-called cable channels, you will now be able to stay within the same ecosystem. You'll be able to move from a Google TV FAST channel to ESPN on Sling or YouTube TV within the Google TV live guide. That is progress.

Here is the big caveat - FAST services do not offer what I would call top-tier programming. For example, if you’re looking for bigtime sports, forget about it. While channels like Stadium Sports are available on many FAST services, as I write this, Nevada is playing Boise State in softball on that channel. As for news, there are several offerings from the major networks such as ABC News Live, CBS News, NBC News Now and LiveNOW from Fox. However, at best, they offer news coverage from “B” team anchors and often are simply places to watch reruns of "Good Morning America”, "The Today Show” or a repeat of a nightly network newscast. CNN, MSNBC and Fox News Channel are not available through a FAST service. Nor are regional sports networks or most newer movies and TV shows from the major networks.

On the other hand, if you want a large choice of some national and local news and weather, older and even more recent TV shows, movies, cooking and other reality programming, all for free, you should give at least one of the FAST services a try. For example, Pluto currently offers over 250 channels with programming as recent as "Yellowstone” to as old as "Three’s Company”. It also offers several movie channels. None of these movies are going to be anywhere near your local movie house, but if you want to catch one of the "Mission Impossible” or "Beverly Hills Cop” adventures, there are many choices to be had. Also, some services offer local TV channel news. For example, TUBI (owned by Fox) has 17 local Fox affiliates available. So, if there’s a breaking news story in Chicago, or for that matter, any of the 17 markets, you can stream the latest newscast from that market’s local Fox TV station.

There is no doubt that the advent of high-speed home internet has changed the way we consume TV. It goes back to the gold in them there Hollywood Hills. With all that content, it’s 1849 again and there’s a new California gold-rush. With virtually every major media company sitting on that content, it’s no wonder why they’ve all jumped into the FAST space. And there’s more to come. For example, with the merger of HBO and Discovery Networks, Warner Bros. is set to unveil its new FAST service within the next few months. BTW, they also just unveiled a new name for "HBO Max”. They’re calling it "Max”, which is just what we all needed. But I digress and I write about that in another post. It’s only a matter of time before we see some of these FAST services either merge or get eaten by another company. Simply put, there are too many options and there’s nothing worse than a confused consumer. Except paying over $200 a month to watch TV.

Something needs to change need I say, fast. Consumers are angry at rising prices and confused with so many choices for much of the same programming. I started Lower Tech Bills after I retired from the radio business because I found myself with the time to do all the research to keep up with trends in the TV, Cellular and Internet worlds. That’s how I’ve been able to save households from hundreds to even thousands of dollars on their tech costs. For a free look at your bills, email hmwellsradio@gmail.com or visit lowertechbills.com because you may not have the time to do all that research, but I do.