Google TV’s Addition of Hundreds of Free Streaming Channels to Benefit YouTube’s Forthcoming FAST Service
Last week’s news that Google was adding hundreds of free ad-supported TV (FAST) channels from Plex, Tubi, and Haystack News to its Live TV tab on Chromecast streaming devices was a major cause for celebration as far as users were concerned. The additions brought Google’s live channel count to over 800, as Chromecast devices already carried free streaming channels from Pluto TV.
Such a move could have been done simply in the name of aggregating more FAST channels into a single platform, which is a development that a large number of streaming users are clamoring for. But according to reporting from Variety, Google has a different endgame in mind for the introduction of these FAST channels into its Live tab.
According to the report, Google sees its offering of more than 800 FAST channels as a testbed for its own free streaming service. It was reported in January that Google had gathered a small test audience for a potential FAST platform operated by YouTube, with content from Lions Gate, A+E Networks, Cinedigm Corp, and FilmRise. Google is now planning to gather viewing data from the rollout of more FAST channels on Chromecast Live tabs to see what free TV its users gravitate toward most so that it can offer more of that content when YouTube’s FAST hub launches to customers.
What Google will need to focus on most while it gathers that data is giving users a quick way to discover the content they want. With hundreds of free streaming channels to choose from, Google must implement some kind of machine learning that will give users content recommendations based on past viewing history. Chromecast users can save favorite channels so they’ll appear at the top of the list, but they would first have to sift through all of the offerings in order to pick which channels to prioritize. Google runs the risk of people giving up on finding something new if it can’t figure out a way to show them more relevant content quickly.
Content discovery is not a unique issue for Google. A survey from January found that the average streaming user takes more than 11 minutes to make a selection, which represents a 52% increase over the amount of time users took to pick a title in 2019. Streaming platforms must make new content easier for users to find, or risk those customers switching over to another service to watch something else.
Google has played it close to the vest regarding information about YouTube’s upcoming FAST hub. There’s still much more data to be gathered, but the company is doing its proper diligence to ensure users have the content they want on the service, though it must ensure that content is easy to find once it’s available.
Google Chromecast
Google Chromecast is a streaming device that can be used to watch Live TV Streaming Services and On Demand Streaming Services.
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