A broadcaster's budget guide to FAST channels: nine cost components, one-time vs ongoing costs, how carriage revenue shares work and three ways to launch.
Updated October 2026 · By Sampath Mallidi, CEO of Revidd
Revidd publishes this guide. Every dollar figure below comes from a public third-party source, linked and dated. We don't list Revidd prices here.
The cost to launch a FAST channel in 2026 depends mostly on three things: the content you hold rights to, how many platforms you distribute to, and whether you run live programming or a looped schedule. The technology can be a small line: AWS's MediaTailor pricing page (checked October 6, 2026) lists $0.10 per running hour for a basic, on-demand-only linear channel, which AWS works out to $73.00 for a month of 24/7 looped programming, before encoding, storage, delivery and ads. For most broadcasters, the larger and less predictable costs are content rights, staff time and the share of ad revenue that distribution platforms keep.
TL;DR: Budget for nine components: content rights, playout, EPG and metadata, SCTE-35 ad markers and ad partners, encoding and delivery, platform distribution, your own apps, staff and marketing. Public prices exist for cloud building blocks and app store accounts, but not for carriage. Carriage on Samsung TV Plus, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV or Vizio WatchFree+ is negotiated per channel, usually as a revenue share or an inventory split. A looped channel costs less to run than a live one, and each extra platform adds delivery and operations work.
What does it cost to launch a FAST channel?
The "public reference point" column shows a number only where a public, citable source exists. Everything else is quote-based.
Cost component | One-time | Ongoing | Public reference point (checked October 6, 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
Content rights and licensing | Rights clearance, contracts | License fees or revenue shares, renewals | No public benchmark; deal-specific |
Playout and scheduling | Channel setup, schedule build | Per-channel running cost, scheduling time | AWS MediaTailor: $0.10/hour basic channel, $0.35/hour standard channel with live sources |
EPG and metadata | Artwork, descriptions, guide setup | Daily guide updates | No public benchmark |
SCTE-35 ad markers and ad partners | Ad partner and SSP setup | Ad partner fees or revenue share | Partner-specific; no public benchmark |
Encoding, storage and delivery | Encoding the library | Storage, CDN delivery per GB | AWS publishes CDN rates on its CloudFront pricing page |
Distribution to FAST platforms | Technical onboarding, deal negotiation | Platform revenue or inventory share | Revenue shares reported between 30% and 60% to the channel; see below |
Your own apps | App builds, store accounts | Store renewals, app updates | Apple Developer Program: $99 a year; Google Play: $25 one time |
Staff and operations | Hiring or training | Programming, ad ops, monitoring | No public benchmark |
Marketing | Launch campaign | Ongoing promotion | No public benchmark |
What are the cost components of a FAST channel?
Content rights and licensing
If you own your library, the cost is clearing rights for 24/7 ad-supported streaming in each territory, including music and any third-party clips. If you license content, fees depend on the title's popularity, exclusivity and license length. Amagi's guide to FAST monetization lists the same drivers. Check that your contracts allow linear, ad-supported streaming, not just on-demand.
Playout and scheduling
Playout turns your files into a continuous 24/7 stream that follows a schedule. Cloud services make the infrastructure itself cheap to start. AWS MediaTailor pricing lists $0.10 per running hour for a basic channel that schedules on-demand content only, and $0.35 per hour for a standard channel that can also schedule live sources (US East, checked October 6, 2026). Those rates cover channel assembly only. Encoding, storage, delivery, ad insertion and the people who build and run the schedule are extra. Playout vendors and OTT platforms bundle more of this work and usually quote privately.
EPG and metadata
Every FAST platform and every app needs a program guide: titles, descriptions, artwork, ratings and start times for each slot. Building it is a one-time job. Keeping it accurate every time the schedule changes is ongoing work, so budget staff time even if your tools generate the guide.
SCTE-35 ad markers and ad partners
FAST channels earn money from ads placed in breaks marked with SCTE-35 cues. Our SCTE-35 explainer covers the standard. The markers themselves cost nothing. The cost is the ad stack that fills the breaks: an ad server, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and an ad insertion service from your ad partner or the distribution platform. These partners usually take a fee or a share of revenue, set in each contract. Budget for filler content too, so breaks never go to black when no ad is sold.
Encoding, storage and delivery
Your library has to be encoded into streaming formats and stored, and the stream has to reach viewers through a content delivery network (CDN). Delivery cost grows with viewers, hours watched and video quality. AWS publishes its CDN rates on the CloudFront pricing page, but your real bill depends on audience size. When a FAST platform carries your channel, ask who pays for delivery to its viewers, because terms differ.
Distribution to Samsung TV Plus, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV and Vizio WatchFree+
Getting carried by a FAST platform means a negotiated deal with each platform's content team. Vizio's content partner page invites channel submissions and onboarding through its Partner Management Team. Public reporting describes two main deal types:
Revenue share: the platform sells the ads and pays the channel a share. A March 2023 report commissioned by Blue Ant Media, Understanding FAST, says this "is usually split 60/40 in favour of the channel provider, although 55/45 or 50/50 splits are becoming more common." MIPBlog reported the same in July 2023. In June 2023, Digiday reported that some operators' deals with Amazon's Freevee and The Roku Channel let them sell none of their inventory and paid them 30% to 45% of the revenue the platform sold.
Inventory share: the channel sells some ad breaks itself and the platform sells the rest. The Blue Ant report calls this "the dominant model in the US market," and the same Digiday report said operators cited a 50-50 inventory split with Samsung.
MIPBlog adds that fixed license fees are rare and usually tied to exclusive rights. Digiday also noted that terms differ between operators on the same platform. Treat these figures as reported ranges, not rate cards. Distribution partners that deliver channels to many platforms add their own fees or revenue share on top. For how carriage works in practice, read how FAST distribution works on Samsung TV Plus, Pluto TV and The Roku Channel.
Your own apps
A FAST channel in your own branded apps keeps the viewer relationship and all of your ad inventory with you. The fixed fees are small. The Apple Developer Program costs $99 a year, and Google Play charges a $25 one-time registration fee (both checked October 6, 2026). The real cost is building and maintaining apps for every TV platform, which is where an OTT platform or an in-house team comes in. Our cost to build an OTT platform breaks down the custom route.
Staff and operations
Someone has to program the channel, update the guide, manage ad partners, watch the stream and fix problems. Fremantle, interviewed in the Blue Ant report, put it simply: "FAST channels are real TV channels," needing investment in "editorial curation, marketing, data analysis and technology." A looped channel needs less day-to-day staffing than a live one, which needs people on shift.
Marketing
On a FAST platform, the platform's guide brings viewers, but placement is negotiated. In your own apps, you bring the audience through on-air promos, social, email and your website.
Which FAST channel costs are one-time and which are ongoing?
One-time costs are rights clearance, encoding the library, channel and guide setup, app builds, ad partner setup and the launch campaign. Ongoing costs are license renewals, playout running time, delivery, guide updates, platform and ad partner shares, app maintenance, staff and promotion. For most channels the ongoing lines matter more, because a 24/7 channel runs every hour of the year. Plan a year-one budget and a year-two budget, not just a launch number.
What makes a FAST channel cost more or less?
Hours of library. A deep library avoids repeats without new licensing; a thin one means licensing more or looping more. Fremantle told the Blue Ant report there is "not a magic number" of hours. Our guide to how many FAST channels to launch explains library depth.
Live vs looped. Live sources cost more to run and staff. AWS's own pricing shows the gap at the infrastructure level: $0.35 per hour for a channel with live sources vs $0.10 for on-demand only. Live news or sports also needs production and people on shift. See our local TV FAST channel and sports FAST channel guides.
Number of platforms. Each FAST platform adds onboarding, guide delivery, reporting and a revenue share. Each app platform adds builds, store reviews and updates.
Number of channels. A second channel adds programming, guide and monitoring work, even if it shares the library.
Who sells ads. Selling your own inventory keeps more of each ad dollar but needs an ad sales team or partners. Platform-sold deals cost less effort and pay a smaller share.
What are the ways to launch a FAST channel?
There are three main routes, and many broadcasters combine the first two.
Route | What you pay for | Who sells the ads | Control | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Playout vendor plus distribution partner | Playout and delivery fees, partner terms, platform revenue shares (all quote-based) | Mostly the platforms, sometimes split | Wide reach on third-party services; less control of viewer data and placement | Channels whose main goal is reach on Samsung TV Plus, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV and similar services |
Your own apps on an OTT platform such as Revidd | Platform quote, app store accounts, your ad partners' terms | You, through your ad partners | Full control of brand, schedule, viewers and inventory; you market the apps | Broadcasters with a library and an audience who want FAST alongside on-demand and live |
Full custom build | Cloud services, engineers, app development and maintenance | You | Total control and the most work | Large media groups with engineering teams |
Playout vendor plus distribution partner. Companies such as Amagi offer cloud playout and FAST distribution to third-party platforms. This is the better route if third-party carriage is your main goal. Review our comparison of FAST channel platforms before you sign.
Your own apps on an OTT platform. Revidd lets broadcasters and media companies launch their own streaming service on every major screen, with on-demand, live and 24/7 FAST channels in one platform. You run your own 24/7 FAST channel next to on-demand and live in your branded apps on Roku, Samsung, LG, Vizio, Apple TV, Fire TV and Android TV. Revidd's FAST Program Manager builds the schedule with an EPG, SCTE-35 markers for your ad partners, an Ad Filler Playlist and a Rescue Playlist that plays backup content if a file fails. Apps can be ready in as little as 1 to 2 weeks, plus app store review that Revidd doesn't control. Revidd powers streaming that reaches more than 38 million viewers and 5.2 million monthly active viewers across 15 countries. Revidd doesn't provide managed carriage onto Samsung TV Plus, Pluto TV, The Roku Channel or Tubi, but it can output your channel as HLS with SCTE-35 markers for a distribution partner. See Revidd FAST channels.
Full custom build. Cloud building blocks are cheap per hour, but you pay engineers to assemble and run them, plus app teams for each TV platform.
Want a quote for your own channel? Bring your library hours, your target platforms and whether you plan live programming. Request a Revidd demo.
How do you budget for a FAST channel launch?
Audit your rights. List the hours you can legally run as 24/7 ad-supported streaming, by territory.
Pick your route. Third-party carriage, your own apps, or both.
Get written quotes for playout, delivery and apps at your expected year-one audience, and ask what changes when you add channels or platforms.
Model revenue after shares. Apply the platform and ad partner shares before you forecast. Our guide to FAST channel revenue walks through the math.
Staff the schedule. Name who owns programming, the guide, ad operations and monitoring.
For context on how independent broadcasters are approaching FAST, see our state of FAST for independent broadcasters. Comparing full platforms? Read the best OTT platforms for broadcasters.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to launch a FAST channel?
It depends on content rights, distribution and whether the channel is live or looped. Infrastructure can be modest: AWS's MediaTailor pricing page (checked October 6, 2026) lists $0.10 per running hour for a basic on-demand-only linear channel, about $73 for a month of 24/7 looping, before encoding, storage, delivery and ads. Content rights, staff and platform revenue shares are usually the larger costs, and they are quote-based.
Do Samsung TV Plus, The Roku Channel or Pluto TV charge to carry a FAST channel?
Carriage is negotiated per channel. Public reporting describes mostly revenue-share and inventory-share deals, MIPBlog reported in 2023 that fixed license fees are rare, and Digiday reported in 2023 that terms differ between operators on the same platform. Ask each platform or distribution partner for its terms in writing.
What revenue share do FAST platforms keep?
Reported splits vary. A 2023 report commissioned by Blue Ant Media said revenue shares were usually 60/40 in favor of the channel, with 55/45 and 50/50 becoming more common. Digiday reported in 2023 that some operators received 30% to 45% of platform-sold revenue on The Roku Channel and Freevee, and a 50-50 inventory split with Samsung.
Is a looped FAST channel cheaper than a live one?
Usually, yes. Live sources cost more to run and need people on shift. At the infrastructure level, AWS's MediaTailor pricing page (checked October 6, 2026) lists $0.10 per hour for an on-demand-only channel and $0.35 per hour for a channel that also schedules live sources.
Can I launch a FAST channel in my own apps without a distribution deal?
Yes. You can run a 24/7 FAST channel inside your own branded apps and keep all of your ad inventory, selling it through your ad partners. Revidd runs FAST channels alongside on-demand and live in your apps on every major TV platform. You can add third-party distribution later through a partner.
Do I need a distribution partner like Amagi?
Only if third-party carriage is a goal and you don't want to deliver to each platform yourself. Distribution partners handle delivery to many platforms and take their own fees or share. If your priority is your own apps, you can start without one.
Ready to price a FAST channel for your own library? Request a demo.
