BBC Studios will exclusively premiere five new themed channels to viewers across the United States through Amazon Freevee. The channels will showcase over 1,000 hours of BBC programmes on channels for comedy, gameshows, sci-fi, travel, and long-running crime dramas. The advertising-supported channels will be available through the Freevee app and Fire TV and Prime Video.
The so-called FAST channels, an acronym for free, advertising-supported streaming television, allow producers and distributors like BBC Studios, a commercial subsidiary of the BBC, to package programmes in themed collections that run continuously.
“With an extensive catalogue spanning countless genres, we’re uniquely positioned to curate new entertainment experiences, that leverage the best of our fan-favoured British content, for every type of audience,” said Beth Anderson of BBC Studios. “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 customized channels on Amazon Freevee in the US. 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.”
The BBC Comedy channel will include over 300 hours of British comedy, from stand-up to sketch shows. BBC Game shows will feature quiz and competition programmes.
This is the latest launch of such themed channels from BBC Studios, which started them in 2019 and has since launched seventeen editorially curated channels in the United States.
BBC Studios produces around 2,400 hours of programming a year, with three-quarters of its revenues from non-BBC customers, including Discovery, Apple and Netflix.