What is FAST channels?
FAST (free ad-supported streaming television) channels are scheduled, linear channels delivered over the internet and paid for by ads, such as the channel guides inside Samsung TV Plus, Pluto TV, or The Roku Channel. Viewers tune in instead of choosing an episode. In OpenRTB, FAST ad breaks arrive as CTV app inventory with ad pods, usually stitched into the stream on a server.
Also called: FAST, free ad-supported streaming television, free ad-supported TV, linear streaming channels.
How it works
A FAST request is an app request on a CTV device: Device.devicetype 3 or 7, App.bundle set to the streaming app, and an Imp.video with Video.plcmt = 1 and pod fields. The app is often an aggregator that carries hundreds of channels it does not own, so the channel and the programmer travel in Content.channel and Content.network, both added in OpenRTB 2.6. Show-level data goes in Content.title, Content.series, and Content.genre.
Scheduling matters to buyers. In OpenRTB 2.6-202606, Content.livestream = 1 means the content airs on a schedule (linear viewing) and 0 means on demand, while the new Content.realtime says whether the event is happening as it is watched. A FAST channel replaying old episodes is scheduled but not real time. Earlier versions defined livestream simply as live or not live, so check which definition a partner applies.
Inventory sharing is common: the channel owner may sell some breaks while the app owner sells others, and App.inventorypartnerdomain names the content owner so buyers can check that party's app-ads.txt. Pitfalls: the same channel appearing under many bundles with no channel data, which looks like spoofed supply; Imp.ssai left unset on stitched streams; and content fields filled with the app's name instead of the program's.
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Related terms
Every term is in the glossary.