BBC Studios lines up five new FAST channels in US via Amazon Freevee

BBC Studios is launching five free, ad-supporting streaming TV (FAST) channels focused on genres including comedy and gameshows via Amazon Freevee in the US as it continues to build out its AVoD and FAST strategy.

Beth Anderson

The five new channels – BBC Comedy, BBC Gameshows, BBC Sci-Fi, BBC Travel and a channel devoted to crime dramas Silent Witness and New Tricks – will go live on October 17 featuring over 1,000 hours of content in total.

BBC Comedy showcases the best in UK comedy with over 300 hours of content featuring the likes of Catherine Tate, Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, while BBC Gameshows puts the spotlight on UK quiz and competition programming.

BBC Sci-Fi will carry at least 200 hours of content spanning space comedies, sci-fi panel shows, supernatural teen dramas and scientific documentaries, and BBC Travel features a range of travel-related programming fronted by presenters such as Fry and Ewan McGregor. The Silent Witness/New Tricks channel features episodes of the classic and long-running crime dramas.

BBC Studios entered the FAST space in 2019 and now has 17 FAST offerings in the US market.

“As more and more viewers discover the joys of discovering classic TV shows on FAST platforms, we’re delighted to debut our new suite of customised channels on Amazon Freevee in the US,” said Beth Anderson, BBC Studios’ general manager and senior VP of FAST and VoD sales in North America and Latin America.

“FAST is becoming a larger part of the TV viewing landscape and we’re committed to meeting the demand and growing our FAST footprint here in the US.”