Vizio aimed at different targets for its myth-busting. The company says that the widely held belief that attention paid to FAST channels and the ads they carry is lower than traditional TV is wrong. Citing research from Adelaide using its AU[i] a-effectiveness metric, the company says that CTV FAST apps outperform Adelaide’s CTV AU attention benchmarks by 20%-25% and best traditional TV by 35%-40%.

However, if the company plans to launch a service, it should not wait long. The FAST space is already crowded, and establishing a brand will be difficult against entrenched, popular competition like Pluto TV, Tubi, and Roku Channel. TV platform providers are also beginning to make progress with their built-in services. For example, Samsung claims its TV Plus FAST grew viewership by 30% over the last year, and Vizio saw its ARPU (primarily driven by WatchFree+ ads) increase by 23% over the last year.

Vizio’s decision to license its TV OS SmartCast to other TV manufacturers is the most important strategy shift since it became a media distribution company. I have been urging the company to do it for a while because Vizio’s growth has been tied to and limited by sales of its branded TVs.

Finally, Vizio is continuing to partner with advertisers in the creation of sponsored content. This holiday season, the smart TV maker will debut a Christmas-themed makeover show called Merry & Bright with Grammy-nominated singer Jordin Sparks, sponsored by Home Depot. The three ten-minute episodes will appear in the WatchFree+ built-in FAST service on Vizio TVs.

At first, broadcasters were reluctant to distribute their channels online. However, the success of FASTs seems to be changing their opinion. Today, Vizio announced that 20 local broadcast stations would join its WatchFree+ built-in FAST service. The FOX and Gray Television stations will join three other stations already available. WatchFree+ now offers local channels in 20 DMAs.

The Independent Streaming Alliance was announced at the StreamTV Show. The founding group of companies includes Allen Media Group, Chicken Soup for Soul Entertainment, Cineverse, and Revry. Philippe Guelton, chief revenue officer at Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, explained why the independent streamers are coming together:

Today, many FAST services provide 300 to 400 channels, including a good smattering of enthusiast channels like Revry, Bob Ross, and the Bull Riders Network. However, there is plenty of room for growth. As Jill Goldfarb, SVP of Streaming at Trusted Media Brands, said during the panel discussion at OTT.X X Fronts:

The company will need to tap into the much bigger digital ad market if it is to make money. In Q1 2023, Vizio earned $231 million from sales of 0.9 million TVs, which the company sold effectively at cost. Its Platform+ business – which includes ad and data sales – earned $125 million from its 17.5 million active SmartCast users at a healthy 60% gross profit margin. This data shows that Vizio would be deeply unprofitable were it to give away its televisions.

Will was especially impressed with the presentations from Revry, Amazon, and Roku.

Amazon is following the lead of Roku, Samsung, LG, Vizio, and Google TV by building a suite of free channels into the Fire TV experience. Appropriately called Fire TV Channels, the content is available on the “Free” tab from the Fire TV menu bar.

It will also be hard to miss as it will be featured on the Vizio SmartCast hero bar on the home screen when the TV is turned on. Vizio says exposure in the hero bar has led to a 34% increase in sales for some brands.

The smart TV market has existed for 15 years, but TV platform providers are still improving their interfaces. Here are four new Vizio improvements, why they matter, and why changes will keep coming.

Pluto TV has been joined by many other FAST linear platforms, including Xumo, Samsung TV Plus, LG Channels, and Vizio WatchFree. And more are entering the market. Freecast’s SelectTV, a subscription hub for streaming TV, is changing its name to FreeCast and making 250+ FAST linear channels available.

Connected TV engagement (5:15)
Count winner: Roku
Growth Winner: Vizio

Once again, Roku and Vizio define engagement differently. Roku counts the total hours spent streaming on Roku-powered devices. Vizio reports the aggregate time spent in the SmartCast interface and streaming time initiated from apps within the interface. Since both measures include total streaming time initiated from the TV OS, comparing the two is worthwhile.