FAST channels

FAST channels (free ad-supported streaming television) are linear channels delivered over the internet that play a fixed schedule, the way a cable channel does. Viewers do not pay or pick a title; they tune in from a channel guide on a smart TV or app and watch whatever is on. Technically, each channel is a 24/7 live stream generated from a library and a schedule by a playout system, with ad breaks marked in the stream so ads can be inserted, and the ad revenue pays for the channel.

How do FAST channels work?

A FAST channel starts as a library and a schedule. A playout system reads the schedule, plays each programme in order and outputs one continuous live stream, usually HLS, that never ends. Where the schedule calls for a break, the playout system writes a cue marker into the stream, most often SCTE-35, saying when the break starts and how long it lasts.

The stream then goes to the platforms that carry it. An ad server or stitching service reads the markers, picks ads for the viewer and inserts them at each break, and the platform shows programme times in its electronic programme guide (EPG) from schedule data the channel owner supplies. Viewers see one smooth stream, programmes and ads together. Major FAST platforms carried 1,455 linear channels in June 2022 and 1,943 by May 2024, according to Variety and The Desk figures cited on Wikipedia.

FAST channels vs. AVOD

Both are free to the viewer and paid for by ads, but they behave differently on the delivery side. AVOD, ad-funded on-demand video, works as a catalogue: each viewer picks a title, the player starts that file from the beginning, and ad breaks are placed per title. Every viewer watches a different timeline.

A FAST channel is a schedule. Everyone tuned in sees the same programme at the same point, delivered as a live stream, and ad breaks come from the schedule rather than from the title. That makes FAST a playout problem: something has to run every hour of every day, fill gaps and keep the cue markers accurate. AVOD is a VOD hosting problem. Many content owners run both from one library, the catalogue on demand and a themed channel playing out of it.

What does a FAST channel need technically?

A FAST channel needs more than a stack of videos. The parts below are what turns a library into a channel that platforms will carry and advertisers will buy.

• Enough content hours with rights for linear and ad-supported use, so the schedule does not repeat too visibly.
• Conformed media: consistent resolution, frame rate and audio loudness, so programmes do not jump in volume or picture size.
• A schedule plus EPG data that platforms can show in their guide.
• A playout system that runs 24/7, switches to live inputs when needed and fills gaps with fallback content.
• Ad break markers, usually SCTE-35, placed at clean points in each programme.
• Ad decisioning and server-side insertion from an ad partner, plus per-channel monitoring of viewers and errors.

How are ads inserted into FAST channels?

FAST channels almost always use server-side ad insertion (SSAI). The playout system marks each break with SCTE-35 cues. A stitching service reads those cues, asks an ad server which ads to run for that viewer, and splices the ad segments into the stream it sends, so the player receives one continuous manifest with programme and ad segments in sequence.

Server-side insertion suits FAST for technical reasons. Smart TV apps have limited room for client ad SDKs, and switching between a content player and an ad player on a TV is where stalls and black frames tend to appear. A stitched stream plays like any other HLS stream and is harder for ad blockers to strip out. The quality of the markers matters: a cue placed mid-sentence, or one whose duration does not match the break, gives viewers a jarring cut.

How does FastPix handle FAST channels?

On FastPix a FAST channel is built in Cloud Playout from a library and a schedule. You program by time slot against the whole FastPix library, with no storage bands, and a single rundown can mix on-demand titles with live inputs. The channel cuts to live and back automatically, and fallback content covers any hole in the schedule.

Operators run the channel from a browser-based control room: preview what is on air and change the rundown mid-air when a programme has to move. For advertising, Cloud Playout supports SCTE-35 markers. Those markers are the signal your ad partner reads; choosing which ad runs, selling the inventory and stitching the ads in sit with that partner, not with FastPix.

Beyond FAST platforms, a channel can also be pushed to YouTube Live, Facebook Live, Twitch or another RTMP(S) endpoint, with per-destination status. Video Data reports per-channel concurrent viewers, watch time, startup, rebuffering and errors, so a stalled stream on one device shows up as a number rather than a complaint. Titles enter the library through the normal on-demand pipeline, with resumable uploads or imports from S3, GCS, Azure Blob or any HTTPS URL.

Cloud Playout is $99 per channel a month, with a 14-day trial to build and test a channel before paying.

By the numbers

• According to figures cited on Wikipedia from Variety and The Desk, major FAST platforms carried 1,455 linear channels in June 2022 and 1,943 by May 2024. (Free ad-supported streaming television (Wikipedia))

Related reading

• Streaming monetization models: SVOD, AVOD, FAST, TVOD, BVOD
• SVOD vs TVOD vs AVOD vs HVOD: VOD monetization models in 2026

Watch: How FastPix Cloud Playout Works | Program, Deliver, & Monetize Channels