NEW YORK – Free, ad-supported television (FAST) services like Pluto TV, Tubi and Xumo give viewers more choices of what to watch on their internet-connected devices. They also are a growing part of the media mix for advertisers that seek to expand their reach to consumers who don’t have a cable or satellite TV services.
“It’s not necessarily a huge difference between FAST channels and premium ad-supported [channels] from an audience point of view,” Mike Fisher, head of advanced TV and audio at WPP’s Essence and GroupM, said in this interview with Beet.TV at Advertising Week New York. “We want both to be on a plan. We want to be able to take one audience and syndicate that audience out everywhere.”
Streaming video services typically interrupt their programming with fewer and shorter commercial breaks, helping to keep viewers engaged with messaging from sponsors.
“All streaming television — especially on-demand streaming television — with the exception of live sports really has a better ad load from a consumer perspective,” Fisher said. “Less ads means more time with content, but it also means more time spent with that particular brand and that particular message. We do look at ad load inside of different environments as one of the driving factors when we make decisions.”
