FAST SERVICES IN UKRAINE:
RISKS AND DEVELOPMENT PROSPECTS

Serhii MOROZOV

State University of Intellectual Technologies and Telecommunications (SUITT), Odesa

https://orcid.org/0009-0001-2854-7337

DOI: http://doi.org/10.34025/2310-8185-2025-3.99.01

Keywords: FAST platforms, digital television, advertising monetization, consumer attention, media market, TV advertising, content, advertising agencies, media economics, digital transformation.

Summary

The article explores the emergence and development of FAST platforms (Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television) in Ukraine as a novel model for distributing television content with advertising-based monetization. Unlike the evolutionary adoption of this model in the United States and Western Europe, its implementation in the Ukrainian media market has been primarily driven by crisis conditions - namely, the collapse of the television advertising sector and the decline of pay-TV revenues following the full-scale war. The study examines behavioral, economic, and technological factors that influence the functioning of FAST services, their role in redistributing audience attention, and their impact on the structure of relationships among key media stakeholders - platform operators, content providers, advertisers, and advertising agencies.

The analysis reveals that the rapid growth in the number of FAST channels is not matched by a proportional expansion of advertising budgets, creating a structural imbalance between supply and demand. The article applies Herbert Simon’s concept of limited attention to explain the constraints of viewer engagement and critically assesses the overreliance on archival content as a cost-effective but potentially unsustainable strategy. Special attention is paid to risks of market distortion, particularly the disproportionate control held by advertising agencies and platforms over revenue distribution, often at the expense of content creators. The scientific novelty of the research lies in identifying systemic interdependencies between technical, economic, and institutional variables that shape the FAST model's development in Ukraine. The study offers an analytical framework for assessing the long-term viability of the FAST ecosystem in transitional economies and outlines conditions necessary for its sustainable growth. The findings provide practical insights for stakeholders in digital broadcasting and advertising regulation policy.

Biographies of authors:

Serhii MOROZOV,

State University of Intellectual Technologies and Teleommunications (SUITT), Odesa

Postgraduate Student of the Department of Public Management and Digital Economy

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