Watching All the Female Detectives: Understanding FAST and Streaming

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A decade ago, Pluto TV launched. If you’re over 40, you might not have even noticed this live-streaming network. I came across it closer to 2020 and wasn’t sure how I felt about it. I started looking for free streaming services because my cable bill was almost $100 monthly, and I got the bare bones. I was disgusted with what Spectrum offered me and decided to cut the cord. I had signed up with streaming services, but I won’t lie; I still miss regular network television. However, I refuse to pay almost $40 a month in fees to watch my local stations. I also missed live programming. Although I love binging, I feel it is a double-edged sword. I binge, then I run out of things to watch on my subscriptions. Then I found Pluto TV.

If you aren’t familiar with Pluto TV, it is a FAST channel, which stands for Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television. If it doesn’t seem relevant, think again. Pluto TV generated a billion dollars in revenue in 2022. Yes, a billion. Based on the old-fashioned television viewing model I grew up with, advertising-based television, with the more modern in-demand options with a twist. There isn’t just Pluto TV. There are many competitors out there including Plex TV, Xumo (who has teamed up with Spectrum for streaming devices as well as the standalone channel/app), the Roku Channel (you can watch with or without a Roku device), Amazon’s Freevee, Sling’s Freestream version, to name a few. Are you tired and confused? You should be. I feel like I need a box of See’s Candies to relax every time I start researching this topic just so I can see what is new in the streaming realm.

Right now, it is absolute chaos out there. Billions of dollars are at stake and no studio wants to be left behind. According to Advanced Television, FAST revenue grew 20 times (yes, you are reading that right) between 2019 and 2022, and the revenue for FAST is set to be at $12 billion by 2027. Just remember, this is brilliant for all the studios. These FAST channels remind me of the independent television stations that each town had in the old days, meaning the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. There was little or no original content on these independent channels. And, these stations were highly profitable. It is all about advertising revenue. While you might have been paying license fees to air the old shows because you didn’t own them, this model is a bit different since some of these FAST channels OWN a large majority of their libraries, like PlutoTV. Even if they don’t own them, the license fees on television shows and films over twenty years old is far lower than anything from the last few seasons. Pluto TV can now make advertising revenue from their I Love Lucy channel or their CSI Franchise channels. FAST is brilliant. Revenue is being made from shows that were re-runs in the 1960s through the 1980s. There are four generations waiting to discover this programming and three earlier ones that remember it nostalgically. It’s a new version of LCD programming.

If you are wondering why I’m bringing up FAST channels and I just gave you a mini-education in early TV distribution history, I don’t blame you. However, I think you should know that there is a lot, and I mean A LOT of mystery-based programming out there, from 1970s classics like The Streets of San Francisco to the UK’s classic, Lovejoy. Better yet, you have streaming 24/hours a day, 7 days a week. Plus most of these channels have on-demand options as well.

The only issue that arises is there are almost too many channels, not that I’m complaining. As a Gen Xer, I remember the lack of television channels throughout my childhood and teenage years if you were not lucky enough to have cable television. And, even cable television back then wasn’t all that great. You paid a lot of money for only a few decent channels. It wasn’t until the mid 1980s that the cable landscape slowly started improving. It was the 1990s when cable television exploded and allowed for a cornucopia of programming.

Fast-forward to the age of streaming which officially started in earnest in the 2010s, and a new era of television viewing became synonymous with the newer term, television streaming. New ways of streaming emerged with tiny devices such as Roku and AppleTV streaming players and Amazon Fire Sticks, not to mention accessing apps through Smart TVs and gaming consoles. For a Gen Xer who studied and taught television history in universities, it was a bit like winning one of those golden tickets to Willie Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.

So, why is this important to the mystery lover? Because you are living in a moment in television/streaming history when the world is your oyster (well, some of the world). In the case of FAST apps/networks, because really, there are both a network and readily available as apps, you can watch for free. There is a wealth of mysteries available on FAST networks. What is exciting is that there are show-specific channels such as the Midsomer Murders channel, available on almost every outlet I’ve seen, as well as some 1980s classics, like Hart to Hart. There’s a Criminal Minds channel. There are Britbox channels, including the Britbox Mysteries channel, the newest BBC channel showing only New Tricks and Silent Witness, as well as the Sleuth Channel. Where was this when I was teaching TV history, maniacally taping shows on an old VCR and a brand new DVD recorder, banning my husband from changing the channel if he valued his life? Now, everything is available and I couldn’t be happier—or more overwhelmed when I’m trying to find the newer channels and end up scrolling for 10 minutes since not every channel falls neatly into the pre-ordered categories that are offered. But there is always a price to pay, isn’t there?

If you are wondering why I love to discuss the state of certain business models and networks it is because although we all might be fans of the mystery genre, the harsh reality is that everything related to what we love is part of a business. The business culture shapes the fan culture and sometimes when we are lucky and all the stars align, the fans win and we get great products (books, television shows, films). But if you want to be an informed fan, you should understand why or why not your favorite genre or subgenre is thriving or dying. I get that not everyone wants to think about the ‘boring stuff’; however, the boring stuff is what brings you some of the best entertainment. For us, the boring stuff might be everything that happens before you get your end product, but if you understand the boring stuff, you understand your favorite books, shows, and films with finer depth.

From this point forward, until we run out of viable channels, we will be featuring one channel a week from the various FAST options out there. While we will highlight the female-centric shows, there are many ensemble casts from the distant and near past that feature female crime fighters as well, who might not take center stage, but are an integral part of the team. We will look at those shows and channels as well. Happy Viewing!