Disney said it is exploring launching a FAST product, or free, ad-supported channels for consumers.
“We’re exploring a free product for consumers, one that will allow us to accomplish several goals and hopefully do that efficiently,” CEO Josh D’Amaro said on the earnings call Wednesday. “First, we see it as a way to expand our reach to a customer segment that’s more price sensitive, and expanding our reach is as we’ve talked about before, one of our strategic priorities.”
“Second, unlike a lot of our AVOD competitors, we’re fairly well sold, meaning more inventory would actually help us accelerate our ad revenue growth,” he said, adding that a free offering would also help funnel Disney Plus subscriber growth.
“Nothing specific to announce today, but definitely something that we’re considering,” he concluded.
FAST services have been gaining traction, after Fox, announced plans to acquire Roku, and with it, the Roku Channel, to bolster its own streaming ambitions. Netflix also signaled that it was considering launching its own service, after noting that “a free offering could make sense in some markets.”
