UK’s FAST TV boom a major win for small productions, claims leading producer & director
Director Paul Epstein is a New York City-based producer and director known for titles such as The Men Who Built America and The Apprentice USA. He has worked in the industry for over 15 years, building a full range of experience across feature films, factual and reality TV, commercials, music videos, and branded entertainment. This week he’s spoken about research which reveals FAST channel viewership increased by 180 times in the UK between 2019 and 2022 and how it could be a major win for small production companies.
He says this growth will help transform the TV landscape as it levels the playing field and unlocks new opportunities in the sector. Research commissioned by Canada-based distributor Blue Ant International revealed that UK FAST channels (free, ad-supported streaming TV) could turn over $500m in revenues by 2027. This follows an upward trend in FAST channel viewership, which increased 180 times between 2019 and 2022, in contrast to the 9% decrease in overall TV watch time since 2020.
Paul Epstein:
“FAST channels can be an important lifeline for smaller-scale productions as they provide revenue to produce high-quality, captivating television that would otherwise be overlooked by the major streaming platforms that prioritise celebrity casts and gigantic budgets.”
Epstein argues that FAST channels should embrace a return to more traditional TV formats, where episodes are released one episode at a time, as it helps drive engagement and boost viewership. He cited the popularity of shows such as Happy Valley and The Last of Us as examples of the growing preference for scheduled programming.
Paul Epstein:
“TV simply can’t compete with the endless source of cheap, community-generated content on platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. TV should stick to what TV does best – longer format, high-quality programmes that are released on a weekly basis. Not only does this support engaging content, it also provides an element of anticipation and drives social engagement as people are able to have conversations about the programmes in between episodes.”
Furthermore, he argues that cost-effective, high-quality TV shows such as historical docudramas could also help unlock opportunities for smaller production companies. He says historical dramas can leverage instant name recognition of historical figures and events, compelling storylines, and lower production costs to capture new audiences.
Paul Epstein:
“History is an endless source of what we could consider ‘free IP’ and brand recognition that production companies can tap into. Take Henry VIII for example – most people know something about him and are potentially intrigued by his story. There have been successful Henry VIII projects over the years but there’s certainly room for more, especially content that takes on a new perspective. And he’s just one example of history’s endless pools of amazing characters and stories that can be transformed into great television, which adds an element of peripheral value as it teaches viewers about history while entertaining them.”
Epstein has worked on projects for Discovery, MSNBC, and the History Channel and is executive producer of recently premiered true crime special event series for Peacock “Who Killed Robert Wone?”. Into the Wild Frontier is his landmark work and is an ongoing, popular historical docudrama series about the Old West for INSP.
