The world of Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV (FAST) is presenting both opportunities and challenges for industry players.
At the recent StreamTV Show, we caught up with Dave Bernath, VP of Sales and Partnerships, Americas at Wurl, to explore the current state of FAST channels and what the future might hold.
Bernath has spent three years at Wurl, which provides B2B services to content companies and platforms, helping them create, distribute, monetize and market FAST channels.
While optimism remains high for the potential of FAST channels, Bernath notes that the industry faces some headwinds. Streaming platforms are becoming saturated, making it harder for new channels to secure a spot. Additionally, the entry of major studios like Warner Brothers and NBCU into the FAST space has intensified competition.
The ad market presents another challenge. Although the promise of targeted advertising in Connected TV (CTV) is compelling, current market conditions have led to softer-than-expected monetization. Despite these hurdles, Bernath maintains that the industry is moving in the right direction.
Looking ahead, Bernath emphasizes the need for innovation in user experience (UX). While the familiarity of the current FAST channel format has aided adoption, he argues that the industry must move beyond simply replicating the cable TV experience. The focus, he says, should be on developing new ways to enhance personalization and content discovery, helping viewers navigate the vast array of available content.
Tune in to the full interview to discover more!
Kevin Gray:
Hi, my name is Kevin Gray, I'm the event director for StreamTV, and I'm here today with Dave Bernath, the VP of Sales and Partnerships, Americas at Wurl. So, Dave, I'm just going to jump right into it here. But before we get into a couple of questions, could you just tell us a little about yourself and what you do for Wurl?
Dave Bernath:
Yeah. I'm a long-time cable TV veteran. I worked at places like Comedy Central, E! Entertainment Television. Been at Wurl about three years, and my job primarily is to sell our services. We're kind of, I would say, a preeminent B2B service provider for all the content companies and platforms to help them create FAST channels, distribute them, monetize them, increasingly market them. So we're kind of in the "growth of FAST business" generally, and it's a fun space.
Kevin Gray:
It is a fun space, and it's grown so much over the past year. And when I say the past year, obviously, you and me spoke at the last StreamTV Show that we had June 2023. Here it is a year later. I know you speak with so many different companies and clients in the industry, so I'd love to hear your perspective, what are the biggest changes that have happened in the past year that you've seen?
Dave Bernath:
Well, I think everyone has a mixture of strong optimism with a sober reality. So, for example, the streaming platforms are pretty full. It's not as easy to get your channel launched on a new service because they've got a lot of great content. And the big studios like Warner Brothers and NBCU that weren't in the game are in the game with dozens of channels, which is awesome because it's great content, but it means it's a little tougher out there.
So that's good and bad, right? And then you have things like the ad market. We're all waiting for it to come back. And it's been okay, but it's still a little soft, so everyone's like, "The monetization is not what I want it to be." But we all know the promise of CTV and of targeted advertising. It's amazing compared to the old school. So it's this mix of, "We're on a journey, it's early days, there's growth, but there are a few headwinds." And I would say all of that has increased since last year. It's a little more crowded, ad market's a little more frustrating, but it's still all moving in the right direction.
Kevin Gray:
Well, it's good, this moving on the right direction. Yeah, I've noticed that as well. There just seems like so much more competition in the space of this year's show compared to last. So that being said, now I'm just curious, what do you think is in store beyond here? For the rest of this year and beyond, what do you see as happening after the show?
Dave Bernath:
I think we need some innovation in the UX. As you've heard me say before, the fact that FAST linear experiences are just like cable, I think was a wind at the back of the whole experience for a while because it was familiar, right? "Oh, I know this." All the news networks are together. I'm scrolling down and, "Oh, that's fun. That was like lean back. It was familiar." That was great. But we don't want to be cable 2.0, right? So we need, whether it's new ways the OEMs, or the apps, work their home screen, bring more personalization, get folks to discover more content.
People still don't, I think, know the breadth of what's out there. So what I'm looking for is innovation in the viewer experience to drive more consumption and get people connected to content because we can't replicate the old experience and leave it at that. And I don't think anyone wants to, but to implement those changes and come up with them is challenging. So that's what we're focused on at Wurl, I think, ourselves. And I'm hoping to see a lot of that in the business the next year.
Kevin Gray:
Great. Yeah, I actually heard that on one of the panels this morning from Beth, I think, over at BBC, right? It's not going to be a regurgitation or anything like that, it's the evolution of how where TV is going. I know you guys are going to have a big role in that.
Dave Bernath:
Yeah, we hope to be.
Kevin Gray:
That's all the time that we have for today. Thank you so much for joining us, and we hope to have you back here again soon.
Dave Bernath:
Thank you very much.
Kevin Gray:
All right, thanks.
Dave Bernath:
Okay, bye-bye.