Former Amazon Studios FAST exec, former Variety VIP+ senior analyst.
The Attention Economy Series
A broadcast network was never just a distribution channel — it was a gatekeeping apparatus. The Control Layer's gatekeeping function has migrated to two new classes of operators. Neither one works for legacy media.
Media Strategy
The distribution layer of modern television is controlled by two companies headquartered in Mountain View and Los Angeles. Neither sends a representative to the Television Academy gala. The data is unambiguous. The industry just refuses to state it plainly.
The Attention Economy Series
Continuous. Lean-back. Zero-click. Programmed-by-someone-else. Those are the four traits that defined linear television in 1995 — and the four traits the YouTube CTV home delivers in 2026. The cable box was never the product. The couch was.
The Attention Economy Series
YouTube now takes more US television viewing than Netflix. Viewers stream over 1 billion hours of YouTube on connected TVs every day. The audience didn't leave the lean-back ritual — they handed it to algorithms legacy media doesn't program.
The Grey Rhino Files
Streaming AI search has two surfaces, not one. Inside-app handles retention. Inside-LLM handles acquisition. They cover different moments in the discovery funnel and they are not substitutes.
The Grey Rhino Files
Proprietary recommendation was the moat. It isn't anymore. Discovery happens on TikTok, Letterboxd, and inside ChatGPT — and the metadata work to compete there is sitting unused.
FASTMaster on FAST
FAST is stuck in a Nimby spiral: everyone wants change, nobody wants to be the catalyst. This month's US FAST update breaks down the channel bloat, the rise of OEM and vMVPD-branded O&Os, and a new 20-minute FASTMaster Intelligence keynote on the problems no one will say out loud.
Media Strategy
A preview of FASTMaster Intelligence's new report on how to evolve content for the Gen Z era.
![Who Is FAST For? [A Luminate Intelligence Special Report Preview]](https://storage.ghost.io/c/61/ae/61aea785-b063-49f6-8399-6c21ea00ff18/content/images/size/w600/2026/04/alt-cover-2.jpg)
FASTMaster on FAST
The FAST industry is obsessing over total viewing hours while ignoring a generational crisis. The format has been captured by an older demographic, while Gen Z refuses to navigate 600-channel EPG grids. To survive, free streaming can no longer be a content landfill for decades-old cable reruns.
FASTMaster on FAST
How YouTube Stations Will Cap Legacy Linear's Growth Ceiling and Strangle Its Future Audience
Chart of the Week
The US FAST grid has bloated to 1,604 active channels. Unscripted TV dominates with 550 feeds, while single-IP channels increasingly contribute to EPG clutter. Explore our interactive Chart of the Month to uncover exact genre saturation and preview the new Advertiser Attractiveness score.
FASTMaster on FAST
FAST ad-fill rates are no longer a mystery. My audit of five major platforms reveals a highly functional marketplace (84%+ fill), but massive divergence in monetization strategy. While Pluto and Roku achieved flawless 100% fill, Prime Video suffered high pod failure with a dismal 33% rate.