Welcome to FAST Times
当 流媒体 team approached me in late 2023 about doing a column on FAST (free ad-supported streaming television), 我只花了一分钟就决定了我的抱负如何与我的时事通讯完美结合 流媒体变得容易, 我从欧洲视角剖析流媒体视频行业的最新新闻和趋势. So, without further ado, let’s enter these FAST Times together.
The State of FAST in Europe
随着2024年的到来,有必要快速回顾一下2023年美国发生的事情 European 快速的景观, as it informs what lies ahead of us.
It is often said that Europe is 3 years behind the U.S. when it comes to FAST. It is true that FAST took off in 2019 in the U.S.; in 2022, we were still debating whether it had a role to play in the European ecosystem. But by the end of 2022, several players had made their first moves. 《百家乐软件app最新版下载》让所有人都达成了共识:无论你是内容提供商,FAST都应该成为媒体组合的一部分, 一个电视台, or a distribution platform.
The question now revolves more around how we go about it. The 市场 in Europe bears little resemblance to the U.S. 市场, 以很少的免费观看内容为快速成功做好准备, massive pay TV losses, cord-cutters flocking to CTV, and a big and advanced ad 市场. 过去的一年让我们对欧洲FAST的前景有了一些了解. 我们确实看到了来自一系列欧洲利益相关者的兴趣和活动的增加. The region experienced accelerated growth in the number of channel and platform launches; brands got more premium, exclusive deals; and live content made its entrance. 2023年有五个趋势引起了我的注意,我相信这些趋势将推动2024年FAST在欧洲的增长.
Quality Over Quantity
European FAST platforms will privilege quality over quantity. During MIPTV 2023 in April, 三星电视Plus suggested it would place a soft cap in Europe at 120–150 channels, 这与美国的Roku频道或三星电视Plus提供的350多个频道相去甚远.S. In Q3 2023, Pluto TV carried 147 channels in the U.K. and 173 in Germany (down by 15% in the U.K. 而三星TV Plus在美国有145台.K. and 112 in Germany (图1).
![unique fast channel count](http://dzceab466r34n.cloudfront.net/Images/ArticleImages/InlineImages/163498-Ranchet-Fig1-ORG.png)
图1. European FAST channel totals as of Q3 2023
这种质量重于数量的方法背后的原因源于这些平台所导航的环境, FAST必须在面向欧洲观众的大量免费播放内容中找到自己的位置吗. Put simply, we have plenty to go around already. 这种对质量的追求体现在一线品牌的新品发布上:
- Traditional broadcasters: 美国有线电视新闻网, Altice集团, “法国24小时”, 法国电视, 和Zee One正在联合他们的线性feed或创建定制的FAST feed.
- Commercial entities of broadcasters: 4频道, ITV Studios, BBC工作室, ZDF工作室, 和UKTV正在抓住机会走出本土市场或自己的中心,在第三方平台上发展自己的品牌.
- Tier 1 sports brands: FIFA+、西甲+、DAZN、SPORT1和西班牙网球频道正在进入这一领域.
体育和新闻通常被认为是控制线性广播电视的两种类型. It was about time we saw major sports and brands crossing over, and with sports came live, a new development with little precedent in the U.S. 快速的景观, 哪家公司主要关注的是肩部内容体育节目(赛前和赛后),而不是比赛本身.
像DAZN、La Liga+和Ten-nis频道这样的频道现在每周都有几次现场直播. Sports has also brought exclusivity plays by Samsung and Pluto TV, 像DAZN这样的合作伙伴向我们展示了他们将体育视为一个值得投资的差异化因素.
Platform Diversification
在美国.S., FAST一直是纯玩家(如Pluto TV或Tubi)和CTV平台(如Roku Channel)的权限, 三星电视Plus, 和免费的vee. 在欧洲, FAST brings together a more diverse set of players, 随着电信运营商/付费电视提供商和广播公司推出FAST中心.
对于电信运营商来说,FAST是他们现有频道阵容的自然延伸. Companies like waipu.tv、Zattoo、Molotov、Orange或Virgin Media很早就明白这一点. 为广播, 增加FAST频道是为了更好地服务他们的受众,增加他们在平台上花费的时间. ITVX, TF1+, and Joyn (part of the ProSiebenSat.1 .集团)参考渠道各20多个(自营渠道和少数第三方渠道混合).
合作伙伴关系
在争夺观众注意力的过程中,人们很容易认为单打独斗才是赢家. Here are two reasons you should think twice before you do:
- It’s costly, at a time when the search for profitability prevails.
- 在你不太了解的市场中,这种方法很长,而且可能无效.
看到一些公司采取不同的方式是一件令人着迷的事情, and here are three examples that caught my eye:
- 海信与VIDAA签署合作伙伴关系,为欧洲市场的FAST集线器VIDAA 免费的提供动力
- 三星广告正在与法国商业广播公司TF1的广告销售公司TF1 PUB进行交易,以提高收益
- Pluto TV通过与Virgin Media等电信运营商的分销合作,扩大了其设备覆盖范围, Bouygues电信公司, and MagentaTV (Deutsche Telekom)
意识
教育消费者将其转化为观众仍然是FAST利益相关者的首要任务. 与其说消费者理解FAST是什么,不如说他们意识到他们可以免费访问100多个频道.
三星电视Plus和冥王星电视投资于户外激活,FAST的营销剧本得到了第一个设计, but I am eager to see more initiatives to boost awareness. 冥王星电视在拉斯维加斯的球体上的竞选活动让我对即将到来的事情感到兴奋. Once consumers are in, the next challenge is channel discovery. 关于 improving discoverability, but whatever approach we take, it’s time to accelerate on this front, which is central to overall platform engagement.
让我赚大钱
关于在欧洲的应用和渗透率,我们仍然没有多少数据, 但我们最渴望的是有关FAST营收潜力的数据. 研究机构Omdia是第一个提供美国以外的数字.S., with a 10:1 ratio between the U.S. and the rest of the world (图2).
![global share of fast channel revenue us vs rest of world 2019-2027](http://dzceab466r34n.cloudfront.net/Images/ArticleImages/InlineImages/163499-Ranchet-Fig2-ORG.jpg)
图2. 来源: Omdia Understanding FAST report,《百家乐软件app最新版下载》,2023年
In the absence of actual platform data, 很难说这些估计是否掌握了FAST在欧洲的真正潜力. 然而,这告诉我的是,我们不应该期望欧洲像美国一样出现快速淘金热.S. for a simple reason: The two regions are too different. Does that mean we should we forego the model entirely? 当然不是. 我们必须为FAST在欧洲的成功书写我们自己的故事——在这个故事中,FAST成为:
- A solid revenue stream in companies’ flywheels
- A retention tool to bring added value to viewers
- An alternative to SVOD at a time when wallets tighten
- A way to boost time spent and lure in light TV viewers
- A space to showcase underserved content and communities
- 这是一个将数字和电视结合在一起,进行实验和打造一流广告体验的游乐场
I will play my part in building this story. 有.