YouTube Leads All Subscription Video Streamers on Connected TVs; Will FAST Channels Help Platform Separate Further?
YouTube has a little something for everyone, or so it seems. Because it is a public video hosting platform, YouTube can carry a breadth of content that no other video service can provide. Users don’t have to wait for a big Hollywood studio to create a documentary on the subject they want to learn about, a YouTuber they’ve never heard of who lives in Finland probably has already uploaded a video on that very topic.
That’s a big reason why YouTube is becoming increasingly ubiquitous on connected TVs (CTVs). According to a new survey from Publisher’s Clearing House, 35.2% of users between the ages of 18 and 44 stream YouTube on their CTV or a connected device at least once a month. This is more than all subscription video services, including Netflix, Disney+, and HBO Max.
Even among older viewers, YouTube is quite high on the list of video services used frequently on CTVs. Only Netflix is used more often than YouTube on CTVs and connected devices among audiences 45 and older, indicating that its adoption transcends generational boundaries.
Viewers older than 45 have been using YouTube for nearly two decades, so while they are in the older demo, they have a far different relationship with streaming than their Baby Boomer predecessors do.
But what can YouTube do to increase this dominance? After all, there are more than 300 subscription video services for customers in the United States to choose from, meaning that the competition is stiffer than ever. YouTube executives are already hard at work on a solution to this issue and may be ready to unveil it to the public soon.
That solution comes in the form of free ad-supported TV (FAST) channels. A report from January indicated that YouTube launched a FAST channel hub for a small selection of test users, with content from Lionsgate, [A+E] Networks, Cinedigm Corp, and FilmRise. There’s been no word yet from the company on how well that experiment went, but it would hardly be a surprise to learn in the near future that YouTube is expanding the program to more users.
FAST channels allow users to watch familiar TV shows and movies in a format similar to traditional TV. They run 24 hours a day, and they usually don’t have an on-demand component; what’s on is what’s on, and incorporated commercials allow platforms like YouTube to offer them and still make money without having to charge users to watch. More than 70% of streaming viewers in the U.S. are ad-tolerant or in favor of ads, showing the school of thought that streaming should always be ad-free is well and truly dead.
There are currently over 1,500 FAST channels in the U.S., and many entertainment executives expect that number to continue rising. Iris.TV co-founder Field Garthwaite said recently he thinks FAST will be “bigger than broadcast and cable combined” within the next two years, so it would be smart for YouTube to get in on this exploding market while it still can.
More and more TV providers are jumping on the FAST train these days. Sling TV recently launched the new Sling Freestream service, and Warner Bros. Discovery will roll out a FAST service of its own in the near future. If YouTube wants to maintain its dominance over subscription streaming services and continue separating from the pack, it would do well to launch a FAST hub of its own before much more time passes.