How Live Sports on FAST Draws Viewers
Given FAST’s traditional identification with VOD and even legacy content, the arrival and growing success of live events, news, and especially sports have begun to change perceptions of FAST as a vehicle for profitable live programming. But according to Cathy Rasenberger of Free Live Sports at Streaming Media Connect 2026, it’s often VOD content from recognizable brands that draws viewers to FAST and live content that keeps them watching.
A Doubling of Live Content
Chris Pfaff of Chris Pfaff Tech Media opens the conversation by saying that live content dominates everything, with sports “really pick[ing] up the mantle with live streaming on FAST.” He asks Rasenberger to talk about Free Live Sports’ branded blocks and what the company sees “in terms of this remarkable sort of doubling of sports content in the last six months.”
Rasenberger confirms that the content is doubling. “Just as a bit of background, Free Live Sports is a leading free sports streaming platform. So we aggregate content. We’ve got 125 free sports channels on the platform, thousands of hours of VOD, and we’re available in 75 countries. And what’s interesting is we can track performance of our channels, which we do regularly to see what’s driving viewership [and] spikes in viewership,” she says. “In the last six months, we have seen [on] our top 20 channels [that] the amount of live content doubled on those top 20 channels. So more live content is coming into FAST every day.”
Thematic Blocks to Drive Viewership
Rasenberger asserts that it’s not just big events that drive viewership; when a channel adds a live option, “it can spike viewership on that channel up to a hundred times.” She provides the example of GLORY Kickboxing, which “had a one-day live event, and their viewership went up 100%—99% to be accurate. But live is not the only thing that drives viewership.”
Another driver is thematic blocks. “A channel like PFL really doesn’t do much live content except for maybe interviews and weigh-ins. But when a live event is airing … they will do thematic blocks around athletes competing in that live event, and it’s complimentary to what’s on ESPN, and viewership spikes through that,” Rasenberger shares.
Clear Brand Recognition Helps
In addition, “We see channels with clear brand recognition attracting a lot of viewership. So a channel like SI, Sports Illustrated, people come in[to] because of the recognizable brand, and then they discover live content they like in a variety of different genres and they stay. But it’s the brand that brings them in. That’s also true for channels that just say what they are,” such as for pickleball, tennis, or billiards. When fans search for these sports, they find them easily and are enticed to keep watching.
Join us August 11–13, 2026 for more thought leadership, actionable insights, and lively debate at Streaming Media Connect 2026! Registration is open!
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