DirecTV Is The Latest To Launch A FAST Service

DirecTV announced earlier today the full launch of MyFree DirecTV, a FAST (free ad supported television) service.

At a media event last month, the nation’s largest satellite TV provider had announced its plans. The newest FAST channel will offer viewers direct access to more than 70 curated channels along with an on-demand library available on Roku, Amazon Fire, Android, Apple and the DirecTV app as well as on mobile devices. The FAST channel will be accessible nationwide

Available channels at the launch will include MovieSphere, Court TV, Fox Weather, El Rebel Rey, Dog Whisperer, Women’s Sports Network as well as other programming genres. My Free DirecTV will also be expanding the programming offerings and is currently working with such content providers as A&E, Fox, Lionsgate, Scripps among others.

In addition, DirecTV’s FAST service is expected to add a number of Fremantle channels before year end.

Also, in the near future, DirecTV has plans to provide genre based paid programming packages of smaller and more personalized genre-based channels that will be a companion to MyFree DirecTV. The satellite company said the service will come with a lower cost. MyFree DirecTV will be integrated with DirecTV’s Your TV launched earlier this year.

Your TV integrates a user’s selected favorite content with their most watched programming which is pushed to users the minute the television is turned on. Last year, DirecTV launched Gemini that integrates subscriber content from DirecTV with third-party platform subscriptions.

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In a press release, Kent Rees, General Manager of MyFree DirecTV said, “DirecTV is excited to bring a successful history of premium content aggregation and an elevated user experience to free TV for the first time. The availability of MyFree DirecTV is the building block of the future for us as we tap into an entirely new audience through this new freemium experience going beyond the traditional pay TV customer.”

Amy Leifer, chief advertising sales officer at DirecTV added, “We are excited about the new audiences that MyFree DirecTV unlocks for our advertising clients. Reaching viewers and delivering positive outcomes are what we do best. This launch marks another way that we are delivering innovative solutions that help move the needle for them.”

DirecTV is entering the rapidly growing FAST platform market. In May 2022, there were about 650 FAST platforms in the U.S., that figure has since more than tripled. With a lower cost-per-thousand than other ad supported video platforms, it is expected FAST platforms will generate upwards of $8 billion in the U.S. this year.

According to Nielsen’s Gauge report for September 2024 — despite the start of the 2024 NFL season, streaming held at a 41% share of viewing more than broadcast and cable television. Among FAST platforms, Fox’s Tubi had the highest share at 1.7%, followed by the Roku Channel at 1.6% and Paramount’s Pluto at 0.7%. Other leading FAST platforms include Xumo Play, Amazon’s Freevee and Local Now. Also, the three leading smart TV set manufacturers Vizio, Samsung and LG have FAST platforms.

Besides the increase in channels, driving the growth in FAST platforms with consumers is cost. Cord cutting is showing no signs of slowing down, as pay-TV users seeking lower costs, continue to cancel their subscription. In 2023, DirecTV alone had 1.8 million subscribers drop its service. The subscriber counts for DirecTV stream, a vMVPD service, has dropped about two-thirds of their subscribers since 2018 and now totals about 650,000 users.

According to the 2024 “FAST Market Update” 47% of pay-TV subscribers watch FAST channels, along with 46% of cord-cutters and 35% of cord-nevers. A Deloitte survey from 2023 found 19% of consumers switched from a paid subscription to a FAST channel. Horowitz Research State of Media, Entertainment, and Tech: Viewing Behaviors for 2024 report each month 66% of TV content viewers in the U.S. watch a FAST platform.

Another factor fueling the growth of FAST platfroms is slowing of SVOD subscription growth. In their State of Subscriptions Report for third quarter, Antenna TV said the year-over-year increase of Premium SVOD grew by only +7.7%. In second quarter Antenna TV reported that SVOD providers had a net gain of only 1.9 million subscribers as 43.3 million dropped a service.

This has been a busy few months for DirecTV. In late September, the satellite provider announced they were acquiring rival EchoStar including Dish TV and vMVPD Sling TV. The merger would create the largest pay-TV distributor with 18 million subscribers. DirecTV will pay $1 for Dish assuming their billions of dollars in debt. The acquisition requires regulatory approval. Also, in September, DirecTV reached a carriage fee settlement with Disney after a two-week impasse.