Build Linear-Style Channels Without the Broadcast Headache
Content owners and aggregators are shifting to FAST (Free Ad-supported Streaming TV) to capture audiences, but setting up 24/7 playouts and handling diverse ingestion workflows isn’t easy without robust infrastructure.
As FAST channels rise in popularity, many media companies and platforms find it difficult to stitch together live, VOD, and external feeds into linear schedules. Ingesting content from different sources (IP, satellite, file) and distributing it across platforms requires complex orchestration often beyond internal capabilities.
Why this problem is widespread:
With the growing adoption of ad-supported content models, FAST channels offer a powerful new distribution path, but they come with technical baggage. Setting up 24/7 playout, combining live and VOD, automating schedules, and managing content from diverse ingestion points is often more complex than building an on-demand service.
The challenge grows with every additional feed, language track, or DRM requirement especially when FAST channels need to go live fast, across geographies, with monetization in place from day one.
Most Related Industries
- Content Aggregators
- TV Networks Expanding to OTT
- News Agencies
- Niche Streaming Services
- ISPs building IPTV/FAST offerings
Linear-Grade Playout. OTT-Native Simplicity.
Erstream enables media companies to build and operate FAST channels with full ingest flexibility and monetization built in no legacy system dependency.
Here's How:
- Encoding & Transcoding engine ingests content from satellite, broadcast, IP stream, or file formats and transcodes them into live or VOD-ready formats with ultra-low latency.
- Merlin Control Panel orchestrates playout schedules using a drag-and-drop scheduler that mixes live events, pre-recorded content, promos, and ads.
- CMS helps categorize, tag, and prep content for repeat or dynamic insertion.
- Catch-Up TV transforms live streams into instant VOD assets to loop into FAST channel playouts or social sharing pipelines.
- Video CDN ensures reliable global delivery with optimized formats and profiles.
- DAION integrates seamlessly to insert ads dynamically on FAST feeds live or pre-scheduled unlocking AVOD revenues from launch.
Everything is API-driven and centralized. So whether you’re pulling feeds from a newsroom or uploading episodic series, you can build and automate your FAST channels with zero friction.
GAM 360 Partnership
Through our strategic partnership with Google Ad Manager 360, Erstream expands its ad serving capabilities, giving platforms access to premium demand, granular targeting, and enhanced revenue operations.
