Amazon has launched Fire TV Channels, a new hub for free, ad-supported TV (FAST).
The tech giant made the announcement during its NewFronts presentation to advertisers at New York’s Lincoln Center. Because food programming will be a key ingredient in the new destination, the company enlisted Martha Stewart to help promote it (see video above). Stewart is becoming a NewFronts regular, having done business last spring with Roku and appeared at its event.
Fire TV Channels is a dedicated home for programming that has already been drawing an audience on Fire TV. Amazon, which has about 200 million global Fire TV devices, said it green-lit the new FAST home because monthly viewing hours of this emerging form of programming have risen 300% over the past six months.
As millions of pay-TV customers continue to cut the cord each year, FAST continues to gain momentum, but it remains a fairly fragmented sector given the disaggregated nature of streaming. Amazon’s new channel hub adds the travel category to a mix of free fare spanning local and national news, sports highlights, music videos, lifestyle, entertainment and other areas, with 400 publishing and programming partners already in the fold. New content from the NHL, Xbox, and TMZ is featured on Fire TV Channels at launch, and titles from new providers including Condé Nast and the PGA will soon be added.
“With Fire TV Channels, we’re delivering a simple, category-based experience that makes it easy to discover what you want to watch while constantly expanding content offerings,” said Charlotte Maines, director of Fire TV advertising, monetization, and engagement.
This summer, after the new FAST hub is up and running, Fire TV plans to roll out a new “always-on” destination, promising a smoother experience for consumers.
The NewFronts pitch to ad buyers is Amazon’s second. It is promoting ad-oriented holdings like gamer-centric platform Twitch, free streaming service FreeVee and sports programming on Prime Video. Last week, Amazon reported a 21% year-over-year rise in overall advertising revenue, to $9.5 billion.