here<\/a>, featured Ilie, VP for AVOD and FAST at WildBrain; Friend, VP of digital and distribution at 9 Story Media Group; and Fisher, senior director for programming at pocket.watch.<\/p>\nWildBrain was an early entrant in AVOD and FAST, including working with The Roku Channel as it launched a dedicated kids\u2019 and family section in 2019. \u201cFrom there, it was a natural evolution,\u201d Ilie said. \u201cWe have a large catalog with well-known IPs that lend themselves well to AVOD and FAST.\u201d<\/p>\n
9 Story, too, saw the potential for AVOD, Friend said, adding, \u201cOur robust presence on YouTube has lent itself to having experience not only in the digital space but how to program channels. The years of data analytics and programming knowledge organically led us to the FAST channel space.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Fisher, pocket.watch\u2019s business model of bringing digital-first YouTube content to multiple platforms also lent itself naturally to the FAST space. \u201cWe recognized early on that it made sense for us to get into FAST to expand and promote all of our franchise lines and our ever-growing OTT network as a whole.\u201d<\/p>\n
9 Story moved into FAST in the past year, Friend noted. \u201cWe decided to enter the space because we felt two things were no longer happening. One, we\u2019re not competing with our clients as a traditional distribution house. Many of the first FAST channels were from the broadcasters, so we wanted to make sure that we carved out a space that was complementary to that. And two, we partnered with a FAST channel provider that offered us optimal placement and prospects. We made sure that our partner is dedicated to kids\u2019 content and also has skin in the game, and we wanted to take the time to unpack years of research and data to inform how best to launch on FAST. We know that operating and hosting FAST channels can be costly, so we try to mitigate this risk by operating at a rev-share model. In our short time, we have over 840 half-hours across six platforms. So, while we are newer to this space, we\u2019ve seen almost immediate success so far.\u201d<\/p>\n
For WildBrain, the decision to work in the FAST space was motivated by \u201cwanting to be where the kids are,\u201d Ilie said. \u201cWe needed to go in with an omni-platform approach. That meant we had to have direct deals with all of the platforms. Now, we have direct deals with about 20-plus platforms. We signed deals with a technical integrator and built our own infrastructure and an internal team that does scheduling, marketing and deliveries. Now, we\u2019re closing in on about 150 channels across the board based on 21 single-IP properties. Last year alone, we assembled about 7.5 billion minutes watched. This has, in turn, informed our next step in our strategy, which is to build a strong ad sales team, which we are now in the midst of doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
pocket.watch launched its first FAST channel in 2018 and followed that up with Ryan and Friends two years later. \u201cThese two channels are among the most widely distributed kids\u2019 FAST channels,\u201d Fisher said. pocket.watch and Ryan and Friends operate as part of the company\u2019s overall \u201cflywheel,\u201d Fisher noted. \u201cWe use the channels to amplify other business lines. For example, with the movie [Ryan\u2019s World the Movie: Titan Universe Adventure<\/em>] coming out, we\u2019re rolling out themed blocks and a stunt marathon leading up to the theatrical release. We also drive Ryan and Friends Plus subscribers by sampling exclusive original shows that we have on the SVOD service on the FAST channel and expanding awareness. After having achieved wide distribution for the channels, we\u2019re really turning our focus to improving monetization, taking more ad inventory for ourselves and our in-house ad agency Clock.Work.\u201d<\/p>\nOn the monetization front, there are a variety of models being used. For pocket.watch, it\u2019s been a mix of rev-share and inventory-share models, with occasional fixed-fee opportunities, Fisher said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve operated under rev-share models for the most part up until now,\u201d Ilie said. \u201cWe\u2019ve had a couple of inventory-shares as well. Now that we have a robust ad sales team that is able to sell our inventory, we\u2019re moving more into what I like to call reverse rev-share, which basically means that we\u2019re holding the first position in sales, so we\u2019re selling 100 percent of the inventory, and we are rev-sharing back to the platforms.\u201d<\/p>\n
The conversation then moved to channel curation. Friend has seen a preference for single-IP services from platforms, noting, \u201cWe know that they want to appeal to dedicated fan bases who are leaning in to watch one thing and one thing only. As it relates to marketing, we feel that strong brands for single IPs translate with viewers, especially as we try to stand out in this really crowded space.\u201d<\/p>\n
Friend referenced the success of 9 Story\u2019s Barney and Friends and Garfield channels, adding, \u201cBoth of these IPs have multiple seasons, specials, holiday programming, and we know that that really does well when it comes to these seasonal initiatives. On a higher level, we know that over 200 hours is optimal for launching a FAST channel with a 10 to 20 percent refresh rate. So, with these legacy properties, we are well-positioned to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
WildBrain has used the expertise of its pay-TV channel programming team in Canada, Ilie said, and is now \u201ctrying to be more sophisticated with the scheduling. We\u2019re trying to manage the scheduling with marketing\u2014maybe a licensing activation or an advertising campaign that might be running on other channels. We\u2019re synchronizing all this with the kids in mind and providing them with a seamless experience that is layered in a way that gets them most excited about the channels they\u2019re watching.\u201d<\/p>\n
At pocket.watch, \u201cWe plan our lineups to maximize a day-over-day and week-over-week refresh so that the channels are always feeling new and fresh,\u201d Fisher said. \u201cWe also plan around cultural, marketable moments that are relevant to our audience. We\u2019ve developed annual repeatable stunts for kid-relevant holidays. We also offer a lot of value to our audience by windowing content. For example, we have world premiere videos that debut on SVOD and FAST channels before they even go to YouTube.\u201d<\/p>\n
While accessing analytics from multiple platforms can be a challenge, the panelists all weighed in on what they\u2019ve learned about how kids are engaging with content on FAST services.<\/p>\n
\u201cYouTube performance translates to OTT and FAST,\u201d Fisher said. \u201cWe also see analogs in terms of dayparts and seasonality. So, for example, if we see a peak at a certain time on YouTube, we tend to see that uptick as well on OTT. Similarly with seasonality, if there\u2019s a dip at a certain time of year, that pattern will likely emerge on OTT as well. Audience alignment is also huge for us. We have found that we can attract and retain audiences by aggregating closely aligned content.\u201d<\/p>\n
Friend added, \u201cFAST is a lean-back experience. It\u2019s very different to the AVOD or on-demand world and more similar to traditional television. The only difference between traditional TV and FAST, in a way, is the content enters your house through a different pipe, internet versus terrestrial. In this way, it feels like it\u2019s coming full circle for the kids\u2019 viewing experience. Connected TVs are on the rise, outperforming mobile, which used to be the biggest device that people would watch on. This major shift makes us feel like FAST is going to grow even further.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the road ahead for kids\u2019 FAST channels, Friend highlighted the need for the market to mature in order for gains to be seen on the monetization side. \u201cCOPPA and GDPR inventory is just too small of a pie right now on FAST. Monetization is still not congruent with viewership. That\u2019s going to start to even out. Ad revenue needs to move from linear and\u2014pardon my pun\u2014faster to FAST. If partners don\u2019t feel like they\u2019re monetizing their content or they can\u2019t invest that revenue in funding more productions, the model won\u2019t be sustainable. That shift is going to happen and more ad dollars are going to move there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ilie agreed that monetization improvement is a key priority, and she expects to see sustained demand for well-known brands. \u201cIn the long run, the U.S. may slow down a little bit, but other parts of the world are going to grow exponentially.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fisher, meanwhile, expects \u201cto see platforms and publishers focus more on integrating FAST into an overall ecosystem that includes AVOD, SVOD, gaming and other interactive elements, just making it feel more cohesive as a whole for the consumer.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WildBrain\u2019s Lara Ilie, 9 Story Media Group\u2019s Elianne Friend and pocket.watch\u2019s Corinna Fisher discussed the opportunities for kids\u2019 content owners in FAST at the FAST Festival today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":27999,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[221,9737,8505,7820,9783,7765,2567,1156],"class_list":["post-27998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-top-stories","tag-9-story-media-group","tag-corinna-fisher","tag-elianne-friend","tag-fast","tag-fast-festival-2024","tag-lara-ilie","tag-pocket-watch","tag-wildbrain","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\n
Kids\u2019 IP Owners Talk FAST Trends - TVKIDS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/kids-ip-owners-talk-fast-trends\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kids\u2019 IP Owners Talk FAST Trends - TVKIDS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"WildBrain\u2019s Lara Ilie, 9 Story Media Group\u2019s Elianne Friend and pocket.watch\u2019s Corinna Fisher discussed the opportunities for kids\u2019 content owners in FAST at the FAST Festival today.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/kids-ip-owners-talk-fast-trends\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVKIDS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-07-25T15:33:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-07-25T15:33:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2024\/07\/2-FASTKids-724.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"394\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mansha Daswani\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mansha Daswani\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/kids-ip-owners-talk-fast-trends\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/kids-ip-owners-talk-fast-trends\/\",\"name\":\"Kids\u2019 IP Owners Talk FAST Trends - TVKIDS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-07-25T15:33:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-07-25T15:33:46+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/kids-ip-owners-talk-fast-trends\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/kids-ip-owners-talk-fast-trends\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/kids-ip-owners-talk-fast-trends\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Kids\u2019 IP Owners Talk FAST Trends\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/\",\"name\":\"TVKIDS\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad\",\"name\":\"Mansha Daswani\",\"description\":\"Mansha Daswani is the editor-in-chief and associate publisher of World Screen. She can be reached on mdaswani@worldscreen.com.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/author\/mdaswaniworldscreen-com\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Kids\u2019 IP Owners Talk FAST Trends - TVKIDS","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/kids-ip-owners-talk-fast-trends\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Kids\u2019 IP Owners Talk FAST Trends - TVKIDS","og_description":"WildBrain\u2019s Lara Ilie, 9 Story Media Group\u2019s Elianne Friend and pocket.watch\u2019s Corinna Fisher discussed the opportunities for kids\u2019 content owners in FAST at the FAST Festival today.","og_url":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/kids-ip-owners-talk-fast-trends\/","og_site_name":"TVKIDS","article_published_time":"2024-07-25T15:33:43+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-07-25T15:33:46+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":394,"url":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2024\/07\/2-FASTKids-724.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Mansha Daswani","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mansha Daswani","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/kids-ip-owners-talk-fast-trends\/","url":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/kids-ip-owners-talk-fast-trends\/","name":"Kids\u2019 IP Owners Talk FAST Trends - TVKIDS","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-07-25T15:33:43+00:00","dateModified":"2024-07-25T15:33:46+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/kids-ip-owners-talk-fast-trends\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/kids-ip-owners-talk-fast-trends\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/kids-ip-owners-talk-fast-trends\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Kids\u2019 IP Owners Talk FAST Trends"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#website","url":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/","name":"TVKIDS","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad","name":"Mansha Daswani","description":"Mansha Daswani is the editor-in-chief and associate publisher of World Screen. She can be reached on mdaswani@worldscreen.com.","url":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/author\/mdaswaniworldscreen-com\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/290"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27998"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27998\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}