Explaining The Difference: FAST vs AVOD vs SVOD

As I’ve been working on TVREV’s newest Special Report on the FASTs, I’ve run into an issue that is quite common in our industry: different people are using different definitions for the same terms and that results in massive confusion.

In this case, it is about the use of the terms “FAST” and “AVOD” and what they refer to. After speaking with a number of executives at agencies, device OEMs, and at streaming services, a consensus (of sorts) has taken place.

“FAST” Is A Business Model

FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) is a business model. It is, as the name implies, a streaming TV service that supplies programming for free. Period. Almost all of the FAST services offer linear channels and on demand options. But it is the “free” part that sets them apart, not the “ad-supported” part—in fact, this was the impetus for coming up with the term back in 2018—how to differentiate free services with ads like Pluto from subscription services with ads like Hulu.

“SVOD” Is A Business Model

SVOD (subscription video on demand) is also a business model. It means the service charges a subscription fee. While “video on demand” is in the acronym, SVOD services almost all now also show live events like sporting events, which are decidedly not “on demand” though that has not affected use of the acronym. Similarly, although many subscription services offer both ad-free and ad-supported options, “subscription” is the key differentiator here—the viewer is paying money to watch the service. 

That said, there is no easy term that allows us to differentiate between the ad-free and ad-supported tiers of the same subscriptions service. We have played around with “SAVOD” (subscription AVOD) for the ad-supported tiers and “SVOD AF” (SVOD ad-free) but we’re open to other suggestions, including just calling the ad-free “SVOD” and the ad-supported “AVOD.”

Similarly, there’s no easy term to differentiate between subscription AVOD and free AVOD.

Further complicated everything: it is very likely that at some point, many SVOD services will also roll out their own linear streaming channels, both ad-supported and ad-free. Which would make the “VOD” part of “SVOD” incorrect, though that probably won't wind up mattering either. File that under “let’s cross that bridge when we come to it.”

“AVOD” Is A Delivery Method

AVOD (ad-supported video on demand) is in some ways a business model (ads) but mostly a way of delivering programming—the shows and movies are available on demand with ads included. Some AVOD content is free, some requires a subscription—it depends on the business model of the service. So “ad-supported” is the key differentiator here versus “ad-free”. It is a subset of the “On-Demand” delivery method, but given that it can be subscription or free, it’s more a delivery method than a business model.

“FAST Channels” Are A Delivery Method

FAST Channels, or streaming linear channels, are another way of delivering programming, via a linear stream. People’s tendency to shorten this to “FASTs” or even “a FAST” is where the confusion comes from—FAST the business model versus FAST Channels the delivery system. 

The word “channels” is what is key here, as what the various services have done is to create a better version of the networks or channels on a traditional pay TV service.

Thus I suspect that the term “channels” or “streaming channels” will win out in the long-run, as SVOD services will begin to introduce their own streaming channels and those would not be free. Not to mention the fact that on their consumer-facing interfaces and propaganda, the FASTs themselves refer to “channels” not “FASTs.”

Thus… Amazon has two streaming TV services: An SVOD service called Prime and a FAST service called Freevee. While programming on Prime is delivered ad-free and either on-demand or linear (live), programming on Freevee is delivered for free, either on-demand (AVOD) or via linear channels. 

Why It Matters

When FASTs first came out, linear channels were not a key feature. Then they were. Now almost all FASTs feature linear channels and on-demand. They may also soon feature live TV. Similarly, while subscription services were initially just on-demand , they now have live programming and are likely to soon have linear channels as well.

So to avoid confusion as the streaming ecosytem matures, it is best to refer to business models by one nomenclature and delivery methods by another.

Especially given that most players are likely to end up with some form of a three-tier business model system: Subscription Ad-Free, Subscription Ad-Supported and Free Ad-Supported..

All of which will contain some combination of the various delivery methods: Ad-Free On Demand, Ad-Supported On Demand, Live and Linear Channels.