FAST’s next disruption: FTA, Pay-TV channels look to open internet on Connected TV

India’s television industry may be heading towards a structural disruption that goes well beyond the rise of Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television (FAST).

As FAST platforms aggressively build their channel line-ups and connected TV (CTV) pushes television viewing deeper into the internet ecosystem, the industry is beginning to confront a more fundamental question: what happens to the traditional broadcasting architecture when the television set itself becomes an internet endpoint?

The issue came into sharper focus during discussions at the India CTV & FAST Council (ICFC), where stakeholders agreed that the council’s reference to “FAST” should be broadened or replaced to ensure it does not become restricted to one business model as digital distribution evolves. The ICFC is an independent industry body comprising broadcasters, FAST and CTV platforms, channel owners, advertisers, agencies and other ecosystem participants.

The thinking is significant because the next phase of CTV is unlikely to be limited to free, ad-supported channels.

FTA, Pay-TV channels and other subscription-based services are also expected to increasingly use open-internet distribution to reach connected television sets. Such services may sit outside the conventional FAST definition even though, from a consumer's perspective, they could be delivered through the same CTV environment.

That distinction could become one of the biggest fault lines in the evolution of India's television ecosystem.

FAST may be the beginning, not the destination

FAST has traditionally been associated with free, ad-supported linear channels delivered over internet-connected devices. But the CTV environment is rapidly becoming broader, bringing together free-to-air channels, subscription services, streaming platforms and potentially hybrid models.

Industry executives believe this could eventually challenge the relevance of regulatory and distribution structures built around conventional broadcasting.

“FAST should not become another silo. The real disruption is that television distribution is moving to the internet. Once the same television screen can carry FTA, FAST, subscription and other internet-delivered channels, the old definitions start losing relevance,” said an industry executive familiar with the ICFC discussions. 

Another senior executive said the transition could ultimately force the industry and policymakers to reconsider how television is defined.

“The consumer doesn't see the distribution architecture. They see a channel on their television. If that channel is being delivered over the open internet rather than through the traditional distribution chain, the regulatory question becomes much more complicated,” the executive said. 

FAST players want more FTA channels

For FAST platforms, however, the immediate opportunity is clear: more channels, more viewing and ultimately more advertising inventory.

The players are looking to onboard and expand the number of free-to-air channels available on their platforms, increasing the breadth of linear content available to CTV audiences.

This could create a new distribution opportunity for FTA broadcasters and channel owners that want to reach audiences beyond traditional television networks.

The competitive advantage for FAST platforms will increasingly depend on the strength of their channel portfolios, discoverability and ability to aggregate audiences at scale.

“The race for FAST is now increasingly a race for content. Platforms need more FTA channels because scale is what ultimately makes the advertising proposition attractive. The more relevant channels they aggregate, the stronger their case with advertisers,” said a media executive.

But this could also create an unusual paradox for the television industry.

While FAST platforms are trying to bring more FTA channels onto their services, pay-TV and subscription channels could simultaneously begin moving in the opposite direction—away from traditional distribution networks and towards direct internet delivery.

The result could be a television ecosystem where FTA channels are increasingly aggregated by FAST platforms, while paid channels increasingly bypass traditional distribution routes through CTV applications and open-internet delivery.

The bigger threat is to the old distribution model

The significance of this shift extends beyond FAST.

India's television ecosystem has historically been built around a relatively defined chain involving broadcasters, distribution platforms and households. CTV potentially breaks down that architecture by allowing content owners to reach the television screen through internet connectivity.

ICFC identifies Smart TV adoption, broadband connectivity, changing viewing behaviour and advertiser demand for premium digital video environments as key drivers of the CTV and FAST market.

As this ecosystem scales, the question is whether traditional regulatory frameworks will continue to map neatly onto it.

If a subscription channel is delivered directly through an application on a connected television, rather than through a conventional distribution network, it is fundamentally different from a traditional broadcast signal—even though the consumer may experience both as “television”.

That could eventually put pressure on the boundaries of the existing broadcasting ecosystem and raise questions around where traditional broadcasting regulation ends and internet-based distribution begins.

Industry executives say this is precisely why the ICFC does not want to lock itself into the FAST terminology.

“Calling the council only a FAST council could become restrictive very quickly. We are already seeing the ecosystem moving beyond FAST into a much broader CTV and digital distribution environment. The institutional framework has to be designed for what the market is becoming, not just what it is today,” said an industry executive.

Could this eventually sideline traditional regulatory structures?

The most provocative implication is what this could mean for the traditional broadcasting regulatory ecosystem, including the role played by TRAI in telecom and broadcasting-related regulation.

It would be premature to suggest that CTV and FAST will simply eliminate conventional broadcasting or immediately remove the need for existing regulatory mechanisms. But a sustained migration of channel distribution to the open internet could progressively reduce the importance of the traditional distribution architecture that such regulatory frameworks were designed around.

That makes the evolution of CTV more than an advertising or technology story. It could become a regulatory story.

If broadcasters can distribute channels through internet-connected televisions, if subscription channels can reach consumers without relying exclusively on traditional distribution networks, and if FAST platforms can aggregate large numbers of FTA channels, the industry could increasingly operate across a hybrid environment that does not fit neatly into legacy categories.

“Regulation typically follows the market. The challenge here is that the market may move much faster than the regulatory framework. CTV has the potential to blur the boundaries between broadcasting, OTT and internet distribution,” said a senior industry executive.

Measurement could become the next battleground

The regulatory question is likely to be accompanied by another major industry challenge: measurement.

As viewing fragments across linear television, FAST platforms, CTV applications and other internet-delivered services, advertisers will demand a common currency that can provide comparable and credible audience data.

This is why audience measurement has been proposed as ICFC's first flagship initiative. The industry body calls for a standardized, independently governed and audited measurement framework for India's CTV and FAST ecosystem, aimed at improving transparency and advertiser confidence.

The council also proposes common standards around metadata, advertising, reporting and consumer experience.

For the industry, therefore, the battle is no longer simply about whether FAST will grow.

The bigger question is whether FAST becomes the bridge between traditional television and an internet-native television ecosystem—or the catalyst that makes the traditional distribution model increasingly irrelevant.

The discussions at ICFC suggest that industry stakeholders are already preparing for the latter possibility.

And if the television set becomes just another connected internet device, the industry's old definitions of broadcasting, distribution and regulation may not survive the transition intact.