How to monetize Free Ad-supported Streaming TV (FAST) channels

Free Ad-supported Streaming TV (FAST) has transformed the streaming experience for viewers. FAST is free, linear, and offers a lean-back, cable-like viewing experience—helping overcome the challenges of content discovery and the paradox of choice of VOD. FAST channels provide content owners, broadcasters, and advertisers an incredible opportunity to drive revenue. But with opportunities come challenges—how do you monetize your FAST channel in a crowded and competitive landscape?

We’ll share key insights into the business model behind FAST, how ads are inserted into FAST channels, and how these channels generate revenue.

What is video monetization?

Video monetization refers to generating revenue from video content that is delivered on-demand or linearly. With the emergence of VOD and, more recently, FAST models, streaming media has become an integral part of our content consumption habits. A report by Forbes states that most American media consumers are now streamers who show an affinity towards ad-supported models. While 56% of respondents consume streaming content for 1–3 hours in a sitting, 40% binge for more than four hours. 

These models not only offer audiences an array of content choices, but they also offer content owners and rights holders the flexibility to monetize their content through advertising, subscriptions, pay-per-view, or crowdfunding.

What do video monetization stats in 2025 look like?

Subscription Video On-Demand (SVOD) is a streaming model where viewers pay a subscription fee to access a library of video content on demand. This year, it is projected to generate a worldwide revenue of $119 billion. Advertising Video-on-Demand (AVOD) — a model in which viewers watch content on-demand for free in exchange for watching ads — follows suit with an anticipated global revenue of $55 billion for 2025, indicating that ad-supported models are gaining steam. 

FAST, which is becoming increasingly popular among viewers, is predicted to generate a global revenue of $10.39 billion in 2025. Amagi’s Global FAST Report Edition 14 highlights this fact. The data and insights from ~3,300 channels distributed via Amagi’s ad insertion platform reveal that FAST grew significantly YoY, with a 65% uptick in ad impressions and a 95% increase in Hours of Viewing (HOV). These numbers further emphasize the growing inclination of viewers and content owners toward ad-supported models.

FAST continues to thrive, and rightly so, as it benefits every player in the ecosystem:

• Audiences: Audiences are embracing FAST for its free, lean-back, and high-quality viewing experience. It is available 24/7 without any entry barriers.
• Content owners: FAST channels offer content owners a gateway to expand their digital reach by distributing original programming or breathing new life into existing libraries. They also serve as a strategic tool, offering a curated content selection as a "sampler" to entice viewers toward paid subscription services. Essentially, FAST provides content owners unparalleled opportunities to broaden their audience, boost engagement, and generate ad-based revenue streams. 
• Advertisers: FAST allows advertisers to approach audiences in a personalized and often non-intrusive way. The widespread adoption of Server-Side Ad Insertion (SSAI) and programmatic advertising has revolutionized ad hyper-targeting. Another benefit is gaining actionable insights into ad performance and viewership metrics, which aid in refining ad strategies.

READ: How FAST channels are promoting SVOD and live linear streaming services

How much does a FAST channel cost?

The cost of launching and operating a FAST channel depends on your goals, the type of content you are offering, and the technical setup. Here are the top contributing factors to cost:

• Content licensing: If you are repurposing an existing library, the cost of licensing the content depends on its popularity, exclusivity, and license duration. If licensing involves original content, the cost of high-quality content production is considered.
• Technology and infrastructure: The technology stack plays a crucial role in the success of a FAST channel. An end-to-end suite of cloud-based solutions catering to channel creation, distribution, and monetization adds to the cost of setting up a FAST channel. Content distribution costs further vary based on the platforms preferred, and monetization costs depend on the monetization model — revenue-share or inventory-share (keep scrolling for more on that). Additionally, costs incurred by Content Delivery Networks (CDN) should also be considered.
• Operational costs:  A significant factor is the expense of staffing the operations team, technical support, and channel programmers. In addition, there are costs tied to meeting compliance and regulatory requirements specific to each geography.

WATCH: Maximize monetization and scale streaming revenue

What is the business model behind FAST?

While SVOD services generate revenue from monthly rental fees, FAST channels rely on ad-supported revenue models. Their primary source of revenue involves inserting advertisements into the content, with revenue directly tied to the number of viewers and ad impressions delivered. 

Viewers, on the other hand, get access to free content in exchange for watching ads and sharing ad/viewership-related data (in compliance with the relevant privacy rules). The publisher's role is then to sell the ad inventory, serve ads, and generate ad revenues. Sponsorships and partnerships are complementary sources of monetizing FAST channels.

What is the revenue share of a FAST channel?

The revenue generated from a FAST channel depends on multiple factors, such as the size of your target audience, the geographies where you are distributing the content, the size of your library, the genre of content, whether your programming has originals, niche, live content, and more. 

Typically, channels with niche, live, or original programming drives higher costs per mille (cost per thousand impressions). Other deciding factors that impact your ad revenue are how targeted and contextually relevant your ads are and how well they resonate with your target audience. In most cases, higher precision in targeting translates to better engagement, maximizing ad dollars. 

Ad revenues fall into three categories based on these three FAST business models:

1. Revenue share: In this model, the FAST platform owns 100% of the ad inventory and is responsible for selling it. The FAST channel then gets a share of the revenue upon pre-agreed conditions. The most common split across the industry is 60/40 in favor of the channel, although this could vary based on individual agreements.
2. Inventory share: In this model, both the FAST platform and channel share the ad inventory and are responsible for selling their respective inventory. Each retains the revenue they generate.
3. Flat fee: This model, though relatively rare, involves the channel or content owner providing their content to the platform in exchange for a fixed annual fee.

How are ads inserted into FAST channels, and how can I manage them?

Ads are inserted into FAST channels in two ways:

1. Client-Side Ad Insertion (CSAI): In CSAI, the video player (client) detects an ad marker, retrieves an ad from the ad server and inserts it into the specified playback position within the video stream. 
2. Server-Side Ad Insertion (SSAI): SSAI inserts ads by stitching the ads into the video stream on the server side before delivering the content. This offers a seamless, cable-like viewing experience with high-quality video and graphics. This is the most preferred and commonly used ad insertion method as it avoids ad buffering, can be scaled to millions of users simultaneously, and allows real-time ad optimization.

Programmatic advertising is another advanced technology that enables the automatic buying and selling of ads, ruling out the need for manual intervention. Built on machine learning and data-driven insights, programmatic advertising, along with SSAI, helps deliver the right ad to the right viewer at the precise moment, cost-effectively. 

These technologies also help you control the ads effectively and as needed. Here are a few parameters that help in ad management:

1. Ad frequency: Refers to how often a viewer sees an advertisement within a given timeframe. Ad frequency requires A/B testing to understand the 'sweet spot' between showing the ad the right number of times—as infrequent ads might not drive impact, and too frequent ads might come across as intrusive and annoying to viewers.  
2. Pod length: Pod length refers to strategically sequencing ads to be played within a single ad break. An ideal pod will have ads aligned with the viewer's preferences, not repetitive, contextually relevant, and, most importantly, drive effective monetization.
3. Ad types: These could be 30-, 60-, or 90-second video ads that appear before (pre-roll), in the middle (mid-roll), or at the end (post-roll) of the video. Additionally, you can target the audience non-intrusively with in-content ads like overlays, Picture-in-Picture, L-bands, and interactive ads. 

As a channel owner, FAST gives you the freedom to choose the number and length of ad breaks—all while ensuring you maximize revenue and viewers get a cable-like viewing experience.

LEARN: How FAST channels complement on-demand strategy

Challenges of monetizing FAST channels

Audience and ad inventory fragmentation

With numerous FAST services comprising hundreds of channels, the FAST landscape can be fragmented. Content owners can find it challenging to identify which content drives engagement and fail to have a unified view of audience behavior. Advertisers, too, face challenges with fragmented ad inventory and audiences across these services/channels. This is where programmatic advertising plays a critical role by helping connect media buyers and content owners at scale. 

Inconsistency in transparency

In a few cases, transparency regarding where an ad was placed across these diverse channels remains inconsistent, which might skew the numbers for content owners and advertisers. While manual efforts to enhance content metadata have shown some progress, AI-powered content classification is emerging as a solution to deliver more comprehensive contextual data for targeting and reporting at scale.

Complex ad tech

Implementing and managing ad technology demands specialized skills, significant time, and extensive resources. Any errors during execution can result in financial and operational impacts.

How Amagi helps solidify your monetization strategy

Amagi's ad monetization solutions, Amagi THUNDERSTORM and Amagi ADS PLUS, enable you to capitalize on the full potential of ad-supported streaming. Amagi THUNDERSTORM, our SSAI platform, helps you deliver contextually relevant, hyper-personalized ads at scale. With game-changing features like pod-split, efficient ad tiering, and more, you can maximize ad revenues. Amagi ADS PLUS is a real-time CTV marketplace that offers a unified platform for ad sellers and buyers to connect and maximize the value of ad inventory. 

Want to explore further?

• Talk to us to learn more
• Read our latest Global FAST Report
• Watch our webinar on maximizing monetization revenue