Is Samsung the New FAST Giant?

 FAST streaming services have become a critical cornerstone of the streaming ecosystem, if an often forgotten one. While Roku holds the crown in the FAST arena, Samsung’s recent advances in the space have certainly created some competition for them— and may have actually claimed the crown. Brandon Blake, our expert entertainment attorney in Los Angeles from Blake & Wang P.A., looks for a winner in the battle of the FAST providers.



                                                                         Brandon Blake

The Battle of the FAST Platforms

Samsung is certainly happy to claim the FAST crown, and with 700 FAST channels now open in the US market under their banner, they may have a point. As with Roku, they had a natural entry into the FAST ecosystem, in this case through their Smart TVs. However, they’re not without competition.

 

We recently saw Walmart take charge of the Vizio Smart TV brand, hoping to use it as their springboard into the FAST market, with LG and TCL also trying to make their name in the FAST landscape. Amazon, of course, still has its Fire TV offering, while Roku has now licensed its operating system to TV makers on a brand-agnostic basis.

The Exclusivity Question

Of course, as the streaming boom and consolidation period have shown us, it isn’t just about quantity. Of their 700 FAST channels, 100 are exclusive to Samsung’s brand in the US, including several focused on local news coverage.

 

However, some veterans in the industry are pointing to FAST saturation in the US particularly, especially as viewers are struggling to discover new programming options (and advertisers struggle to reach and retain them). It does seem that the legacy TV bundle cord-cutting is opening up the FAST market. Interestingly, Samsung reported a 30% increase in year-on-year engagement figures for Q1. It has also significantly increased its library of content.

 

While the FAST space is hardly new, its development into a multi-billion-dollar advertising business is, offering a valuable offset to that decline in traditional syndication. We’re even seeing FAST channels (Samsung very much included) leverage the NewFronts to attract advertisers.

 

Could FAST services, not streaming, be the real replacement for traditional legacy TV? It certainly seems that way. This will be a space to watch over the coming year. 

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