FasTV Pursues Cable Content Partners
By Alan Breznick
A Southern California startup that provides TV programming clips over the Internet, is
aggressively seeking cable networks, broadcasters and film producers as content partners
and prepping for a major consumer rollout this spring.
FasTV Inc., which has already signed up three cable networks and about 20 other
content partners, bills itself as "the Internet's only searchable video destination and
programming service." Launched as a pilot last year, the video-streaming service allows
Web surfers to retrieve programming clips up to four minutes long through key-word and
topic searches.
"We're trying to create this huge video database of content," said Craig Stanford,
VP-programming acquisition for FasTV. "It's a (content) aggregation and service model."
Backed by a wealthy Arab prince, FasTV is part of the growing wave of companies trying
to build a video information and entertainment business on the Internet. Other players
include Broadcast.com, which specializes in delivering live radio and TV shows on the
Web, and such firms as Virage and Islip, which supply computer software to businesses
to help them transfer video to cyberspace.
In addition, FasTV belongs to the new breed of firms striving to lure consumers to hunt for
video programming online. It joins a number of entities, including such electronic program
guide services as TV Guide Online and TV Quest, in this effort.
But FasTV executives, led by president William Swegles, believe their service is unique
because, unlike the others, it focuses on gathering video archives and current programming
from a variety of sources and making them all easily searchable by consumers.
"We're not about watching the entire broadcast," said Stanford, contrasting FasTV with
Broadcast.com. "We're about short-form viewing."
Free to Web surfers, FasTV aims to make money by pitching banner advertisements and
Internet video ads to sponsors and conducting transactions on its Web site, FasTV.com.
Stanford, for instance, envisions hawking movie tickets, home videos, jackets and other
merchandise related to the programming that's being searched.
FasTV also intends to market its consumer database to businesses interested in tracking
and reaching Web video surfers. Although already up and operating, the service will
formally launch in early April with a reported $15 million promotional campaign on TV,
online and print media.
Barry Layne, VP-marketing for FasTV, said he's looking for site traffic to jump 20-fold
once the marketing push starts. Currently, the site, with limited promotion, draws about
100,000 visitors a month. The average session lasts about eight minutes, Layne said.
But the company's strategy depends heavily upon quickly enlisting scores of more content
providers. Stanford said he's shooting to sign up more than 100 TV networks, film
producers and sports leagues by the end of the year, including such cable stalwarts as
Discovery Communications, E! Entertainment Television, C-SPAN, CNBC, Food
Network, Comedy Central, Home & Garden Television and MSNBC.
So far, FasTV has recruited several well-known content providers, including CNN, The
Weather Channel, CNNfn, two PBS business news shows, MGM Home Entertainment,
New Line Cinema and Desert Island Films. The company groups their programming
under a handful of on-screen channels, including news, weather, business, sports,
entertainment and lifestyle.
In other deadline cable news, former Sinclair Communications CEO Barry Baker was
named president and COO of USA Networks Inc. Andrew Heller, EVP, adds chief
operating officer responsibilities at Turner Networks Sales.
(February 22, 1999)
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