FAST Channels And The Evolution of Broadcasting At Programming Everywhere

Free, ad-supported TV (FAST) channels offer viewers new options and new opportunities for advertisers. Leading executives in the FAST space will share their emerging strategies for programming these channels, what’s resonating with viewers and FAST’s potential to dovetail into ATSC 3.0 programming decisions in a panel, FAST Channels And The Evolution of Broadcasting, at TVNewsCheck’s Programming Everywhere: The Content Event for Linear, Streaming and Syndication, at the NAB Show on April 16.

Panelists include Scott Ehrlich, chief innovation officer and head of corporate strategy, Sinclair Broadcast Group; Shawn Makhijani, SVP, business development and strategy, NBCUniversal Stations & NBC Spot On; Sarah Katt, SVP programming, The Hill; Marian Pittman, EVP content, product & innovation, Cox Media Group; Takashi Nakano, senior director of business development and content acquisitions, Samsung; and Blair Harrison, CEO, Frequency. Adam Wiener, founder of Continuous Media, will moderate the 8:45 a.m. PT discussion.

“FAST channels have become a runaway success with viewers looking for free options on streaming, and forward-looking broadcasters have met them there with an array of different offerings,” said Michael Depp, chief content officer, NewsCheckMedia LLC and editor, TVNewsCheck. “Scott, Shawn, Sarah and Marian will lay out their respective programming strategies on FAST channels and how viewers have responded, while Takashi will speak to the OEM
perspective as key gatekeepers in this ecosystem and Blair will address the underlying technology.

“The discussion will zero in on how organizations are approaching the challenge of creating new shows and formats for these channels, how technology providers are offering solutions that can streamline production and how all of it may ultimately be an important precursor to programming for the new channels opened up by NextGen TV,” Depp said.

Programming Everywhere gathers industry leaders to talk about the evolving business of content creation and distribution, with a focus on new development, reinventing local and national news and extending media brands on streaming.

TV station group senior executives will join programming, news and marketing leaders, syndicated programming executives and streaming media and technology leaders to take on issues such as the changing economics of syndicated programming, the relationship between FAST channels and the evolution of broadcasting, transforming television news and strategies for creating a programming everywhere business.

Participants will also consider their No. 1 challenge: creating more content for a multimedia audience, and how technologies like artificial intelligence, the cloud and IP production platforms can free up creative talent while streamlining costs.

Register here for Programming Everywhere.