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We also share what shows and movies are in our current FAST rotations.
Joe Adalian:First, thanks again for doing this.
Nicholas Quah:Im a big Pluto TV guy, but not for any particularly good reason.
I havent even given any of the others much thought, frankly.
:Guess some of those other platforms need to work on marketing!
Savannah Salazar:I definitely use Pluto TV the most too.
Its the best-looking interface of them all, which I vastly appreciate.
Although, on the flip side, I do have Freevee as a close second.
Despite it having a terrible, nondistinctive interface, its also located within Prime Video.
And it hasBewitched, at least the first three seasons, so thats a win for me.
I did also bingeMad Menon there when it wasnt streaming anywhere else.
), and they have a very deep library of legit classic TV across the different studios.
It makes it relatively easy to find stuff.
Because Im not paying, I dont have a ton of loyalty to them _()_/ .
:Eric, it sounds more like youre still pretty intentional about your FAST usage.
E.V.B.:Definitely.
It also depends on my attention span at any given time.
:Yeah, pretty much.
My affinity for Pluto TV is purely grounded in the pleasure of a no-commitment relationship.
I dont know 99 percent of the movies or television shows, but I love having them on.
Its companionship, really.
:Its delightful!Martian Successor Nadesicois on RetroCrush right now.
Ive seen it before, but I love being able to dip in like youre saying, Nick.
:Too much choice is a horrible thing.
Give me freedom from my bad decisions.
S.S.:It also makes everything easier!
I am just a Zillennial craving the experience of watching a daytime show, but not from YouTube clips.
:Its good to sample things without guilt.
No optimizing, no Googling best episodes to watch.
We have more eps on-demand.
Would you like to watch one?
Have you actually ever used that feature?
500 FAST Channels and Nothing Good On?
:Does anyone else think FAST platforms with a linear interface have gotten a lot more … bloated?
Am I alone in this?
S.S.:Honestly, Ive just accepted that there are just too many choices with everything.
J.A.:Right.
And I think that speaks to the need for curation.
But shouldnt FAST channels take a stab at emulate cable and create the digital equivalents of networks?
You know, places where 15-to-20 shows stream at the same time every day or week?
:Thisis what no channel seems to have.
I want a general entertainment channel I can rely on and maybe even schedule around.
I appreciate the Featured label, even as a starting point.
S.S.:Me too, Eric.
I love a Featured or Popular label more than genre-specific ones a lot of the time.
:My wife and I still watchJeopardy!every night on linear/local TV.
Id rather have pure randomness.
But I acknowledge Im likely peculiar in this regard.
:Would you do that if the content was more compelling?
:If the content was worth it … Id play it on-demand.
:Fair, fair.
FAST Gets Original
J.A.
Freevee has beensuper-aggressive with originals, fromJudy JusticetoJury Dutyto scripted sitcoms likePrimoandSprung.
And are you watching any of these originals?
:Jury Dutystrikes me as such an anomaly.
FAST services are visual Muzak, so Id be down for some good visual Muzak.
Produce original home-reno shows or game shows or chill sitcoms.
Import more catalogues from abroad.
That kind of stuff.
Lets say Freevee did its version of TBS with sitcoms and comedy movies during the day.
Or what if the upcomingFrasierreboot ran on Pluto instead of Paramount+?
It just doesntfeelright from a brand perspective.
I can just poke around and turn on a random channel or movie and let it rip.
Lets move on to talk about theAinFAST: advertising.
:Okay, my biggest pet peeve?
All of these services NEED to institute a warning before commercials start.
Like, Ad break in ten seconds and a countdown.
N.Q.:YES.
:Some do, but many still do not.
And often the timing isnt mapped to the scene or act breaks and the advertising interrupts scenes!!
:Thats right respect the scene break.
:I agree that isawful,and Freevee is the worst at that.
Theyve gotten better, but still theyll often just throw an ad in the middle of a sentence.
So what about the overall number of ads in FAST?
:I dont actually mind the volume, for the most part.
I get a bit annoyed when they repeat too much.
Ive seen the same ad roll five times within a break.
S.S.:Oh, thats the worst.
:I also agree with ad repetition.
At some point, it becomes bad for the advertiser.
:I think ad techhasto get better.
And some platforms are getting too greedy.
Oftentimes, Plutos live linear channels have as many ads as cable.
And NBCUs Xumo Play literally doesnt let you pause or exit out of an ad once it starts playing.
I literally have to wrap up the entire app to avoid watching a commercial.
:With TV shows, having to sit through a lot of ads doesnt bother me as much.
That will fully pull me out of it.
:Savannah, you do a lot of reporting about the FAST space.
Any other burning questions you think we should tackle?
S.S.:I was wondering how we feel about the potential of Warner Bros.
Discovery, and possibly Disney and more companies, creating their own FAST platforms?
Do we feel like an influx of FAST services will happen, similar to the paid streamers?
I was like,Its that easy, huh?!
:Yah, we are already seeing studios trying to curate their own FAST lineup.
Like you said, Eric, Warner Bros. Theyre studios trying to be programmers, and thats not what they do best.
It would be like what happened to Netflix five years ago whenFriendsandThe Officeand all the Marvel content got plucked.
:Gosh, that would suppress what could be a fun level of entrepreneurial competition.
Part of the appeal of syndication is more money for less work.
:I guess well see.
The other thing worth watching: Netflix has also said it could get into FAST.
And Netflix definitely needs to monetize its older shows on different platforms.
But should we welcome the idea of Netflix in FAST?
:The space definitely still seems open for players to get it right, whether thats Netflix or others.
S.S.:Netflix getting into FAST feels so wrong.
:It would be … pretty interesting to see what theyll do, Ill admit.
They need to be exploring these new revenue streams.
Whether they succeed or offer something materially different?
Cage Rage and Other FAST Times
J.A.
:Its going to be interesting to watch this play out.
Before we wrap this up, lets talk about our favorite shows to watch on FAST.
For me right now, its the early seasons ofWheel of Fortuneon Pluto TV.
Theyve had a dedicatedWheelchannel for a year or two, but it was limited to episodes from this century.
Finally, I can relive the days whencontestants went shoppingafter each round!
That was the early promise of basic cable, and its what I think FAST does best.
What are you guys watching?
:Ive been loving watchingHells Kitchenon-demand on Plexlately.
I had never watched it on linear before last week.
Horror is great on FAST in general.
I watchedHalloweenandTexas Chainsaw Massacre, both for the first time in the past year, on FAST.
:My operating unit is the channel: I tend to favor90s throwbacksand whateverhorror-movie streamstheyve got going on.
Oh, and Sky News and when I feel super-curious, Newsmax.
And, Eric, Texas Chainsawis indeed an excellent FAST movie.
S.S.:I am Samantha Stephens No.
1 cheerleader, but I watchBewitchedvia FAST on-demand.
Its like when I watched Nick at Nite as a kid.
:I am all aboutBewitchedtoo, Savannah.
S.S.:Where isherFAST channel??!!
:See,thisis good curation.
