Commentary

NBCU Bigger FAST TV Move: Will Disney Join The Crowd?

Jumping into the FAST TV world in a bigger way, NBCUniversal is rebranding its year-old free ad-supported streaming TV with the name NBC Comedy Vault from TNBC.

The new channel will have vintage comedy shows including all eight seasons of "Will & Grace," “Charles in Charge,” “Coach” and “Major Dad.”

NBC Comedy Vault, which launched TNBC a year ago, will be available on Amazon Freevee, The Roku Channel, and Xumo Play.

FAST channels offer TV brands plenty of gross impressions – but not necessarily fresh impressions. They don’t offer the glitz of new original content.

Long-term one wonders about a plan beyond after this business matures. Will FAST channels try to add original content to their mix? It would seem especially difficult given the marketing and on-air advertising spin needed to get attention.

Currently, eMarketer projects FAST TV channels will be used by nearly a third of US consumers (30.5%) by the end of 2024.

It’s also expected to see the business’ reach climb to 104.4 million potential viewers this year and 108.2 million next year. Total FAST ad revenues in the U.S. will grow to at least $10 billion by 2027, according to estimates from Omdia.

Perhaps more eye-opening is that FAST channels continue to rise against premium streamer competition.

Tubi and Roku have a 1.7% and 1.4% share of total day persons two years and older viewing respectively, versus Peacock (1.3%), Max (1.2%), and Paramount+ (1.0%), according to the latest Nielsen measurement reading in April.

Bottomline here is now we have almost all legacy media companies in alignment around FAST: Paramount Global (Pluto TV); Fox (Tubi); and NBCU (NBC Comedy Vault).

Yes, almost. What about Walt Disney? Turns out it is planning to go the FAST route around “Star Wars” and Marvel Universe content.

But the plan isn’t entirely in keeping with the primary reason consumers go to these destinations: the monthly cost. According to reports, the company is likely to make consumers also be Disney+ subscribers, which requires a subscription and has a minimum $7.99 a month cost.

Doesn't that defeat those networks' use of that all-important, consumer-focused word in the media world: “free”?

Legacy media companies may not only need to rebrand some existing FAST networks – they may need to rebrand the business segment overall.

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