As streaming services find themselves shifting more towards ad-supported models in order to cushion the blow of their rising costs, on Thursday, DIRECTV and DIRECTV Stream confirmed to The Streamable that they plan to add more free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels to their respective content lineups in the near future.
The confirmation comes after the satellite and streaming providers announced that they would be adding the conservative news and commentary FAST channel The First to their platforms after dropping the right-wing cable channel Newsmax following a carriage dispute.
One of the major benefits of adding FAST channels to either traditional video-on-demand streamers or live TV streaming services is that they come with significantly lower carriage fees, if any at all. In most cases, the channel additions result in an ad-revenue split between the content creators and the platform, making them essentially free to add for services like DIRECTV STREAM.
This strategy has been one that fellow live streamer fuboTV has been focusing on for the better part of a year. By adding familiar, lean-back content with name recognition or specific, niche interest, streamers are able to supplement and help pay for their more expensive programming options.
With DIRECTV STREAM having recently raised its prices, adding FAST channels is one way to keep customers engaged on the platform, and to convince them that their monthly investment is worth the additional financial sacrifice.
In addition, DIRECTV STREAM has also offered its customers deals for get Peacock Premium at a discounted price, as well as making discovery+ available as an add-on for only $2.99 per month for the first year.
With streaming services having to continually fight to keep their customers from canceling in favor of their competition, the ever-expanding trend of introducing ad-supported options to their offerings seems likely to become more and more prevalent as the entertainment landscape continues to evolve. As the paradigm continues to shift away from premium subscription services towards these tiered and free models, streaming services either need to get with the times or risk falling behind.
DIRECTV STREAM
DIRECTV STREAM is a live TV streaming service, which is essentially the streaming version of the DIRECTV service. All packages include local channels and at least 31 of the top 35 cable channels. New subscribers can get a free Gemini streaming device from the company, in which case the service is called “DIRECTV via Internet.”