Many of The Kitchen’s distribution clients are now becoming their own broadcasters, bringing library catalogue material, or back catalogues, to the forefront for their own streaming channels.
Networks are looking to these FAST and AVOD (Ad-based video on demand) channels to reach a greater audience in order to increase interest and investments from advertisers, creating more revenue almost immediately.
‘There are thousands of hours of content, and the new surge of FAST channels seem to be picking up where traditional broadcast venues have left off. “We all know that audiences are looking for diverse content’, Deeny Kaplan, Executive Vice President of The Kitchen explained. ‘The FAST channels can offer an immediate binge experience for the viewer and produce an immediate revenue stream for the content owner, all music to the ears of the distributor who owns the content’.
The US appears to be the largest market experiencing the growth of FAST channels at the moment, ‘however interest and expansion to other countries is definitely going global’, Kaplan added.
The question as to how this will affect the language localization provider will undoubtedly be a positive for the industry. ‘Already The Kitchen is seeing an influx of back catalogue requests for both dubbing and subtitling, and we do expect the growth to continue’, she nodded.
There is a plethora of content on the FAST channel platforms, sometimes a single IP, and often hundreds of IP’s on a single platform. Specific audiences are being targeted, and even local news and sports programming are gaining a wider audience via FAST channel streaming.
We’re seeing interest in fan-based content, such as anime and telenovelas, sports and politics. We’re seeing theme-based channels for cooking shows, how-to series and detective genres.
‘With the controversies surrounding our industry today: A-I; The Writers Strike; The Actors Strike….the catalogue requirements for FAST channel delivery is a welcome opportunity for us to expand our services to our clients’, Kaplan added. ‘According to SAG/AFTRA, actors are allowed to participate in the dubbing of existing programs, so all in all, this will give dubbing studios globally, the opportunity to continue to localize content’.
‘Clients can be very creative, using existing assets to generate new viewers. FAST channels offer the ability to pick and choose. To program your own viewing experience. We are looking forward to exploring the possibilities along with our clients’, Kaplan concluded. ‘Where all of this will lead is anyone’s guess’.
