How Streaming Extends the Digital Content Lifecycle
FAST helps keep expenses low and autonomous control at a maximum.
Digitally-native content brands continue to search for the correct distribution model to feature their content. Often reliant on the functionality and reach of a social platform like YouTube or Instagram, these brands post their latest digital content for subscribers and followers, who may or may not receive a notification of its availability or come across it on their personalized timeline. It is static, limited to a slice of engaged users and has a distinct endpoint for redistribution.
Whether it’s a premium digital brand spending big bucks on glossy original programming or a lone-wolf content creator hustling to grow exposure for their work, the aforementioned model falls short. How does a digital media organization extend both the reach and lifecycle of its content? It can turn to streaming.
Streaming platforms give creators more control over the dissemination of content, as well as more choices for how that content is monetized. A company might charge a licensing fee, for instance, to an SVOD or AVOD platform for access to select content over a particular term. That’s a clean, one-time exchange that has value – but it may not be a sustainable business model, especially for smaller content creators with limited influence and resources.
There is an alternative: FAST. With a free, ad-supported television channel, a digital brand can create an always-on home for its library, extending the lifecycle of its content and curating a destination that builds brand awareness. Meanwhile, the creator maintains total control over programming while earning consistent, predictable advertising revenues.
Social media has a place for digital brands. But it can’t be the only place. And because creators are at the mercy of algorithms and the energy of viewers to hunt for their content through the menus of on-demand streaming services, FAST is an excellent option for creating a living archive and monetizing both new and existing content. It’s something closer to the old network and cable TV models, but with a barrier to entry that is a far more realistic leap for independent creators and startup brands.
FAST helps keep expenses low and autonomous control at a maximum. Brands don’t need to meet the demands of a network with studio requirements or an imposed content schedule. And there is no existential dread nagging at a creator to sell to a distributor or programmer in order to keep the lights on. When partnering with a FAST service provider like Frequency, brands can get as much or as little help as they want in building their programming schedule and parsing their content for a specific audience. Creators call the shots.
FAST is yet another distribution channel – another revenue stream – for content creators to tap into. Why not take advantage, build a brand and create a library of content with an unlimited lifecycle that helps pull in new viewers and drive ad revenue? Neither social media nor other streaming models can match those benefits.
