Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) has always been a premier marketplace, where content creators and producers showcase their programs and catalogs to attract buyers from around the world. Each year, the event brings together sellers, buyers, distributors for meetings, negotiations, and conversations that shape content distribution across Asia.
This year, December 2-5, SeaOvers participated in ATF to drive conversations around Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television (FAST), moderating a main-stage panel discussion and sponsoring a Coffee Point at the market to support content creators and buyers as they navigated a busy week of deal-making.
Why FAST Is Worth the Conversation
In the US, FAST has grown from around 10% in 2018 to a projected 115 million monthly users in 2025, with 35.8% of the Americans expecting to use FAST regularly by 2028. Viewing hours across major FAST platforms rose 43% year-over-year, which has been driven largely by the genres of classic TV, movies, lifestyle, and news. From the business standpoint, FAST has also proven to be a compelling advertising revenue in US. It is expected to reach USD 6 billion in 2025, paving the way for an expected US$18 billion in 2028.
With these figures in mind, an important question naturally comes into the mind of content owners in Asia: how ready is Asia for FAST?
Bringing FAST to the ATF Main Stage
On December 2, SeaOvers brought this question to the ATF main stage during a panel discussion titled “Re-Looking at Content Distribution — The FAST-er Way to a Profit.” Moderated by our CEO and Co-Founder, Brendan Wu, the session brought together the senior executives of different content providers, platforms, and media technology companies to share their perspectives on FAST in Asia.
Our CEO, Brendan Wu, moderating a panel discussion, “Re-Looking at Content Distribution — The FAST-er Way to a Profit,” at Asia TV Forum, joined by five industry leaders to explore the growing potential of FAST in Asia, with an engaged audience of over 200 attendees.
The panelists of the day included:
- Brendan Wu, Co-Founder & CEO, SeaOvers (Moderator)
- Alexandre Bac, Managing Director Asia Pacific, Canal+ Distribution
- Felix To, CEO, i-CABLE Communications Limited
- James Ross, CEO, Lightning International
- Joe Chang, Regional Director, ByteDance
- Rex Ching, Group CTO & President, MyTV Super Limited
The discussion explored both the opportunities and the practical challenges in launching FAST channels in the region, including market readiness, distribution strategies, and monetization expectations. The panel also touched on how technologies, such as AI-driven dubbing can help to localize the content for different Asian markets while keeping the operation costs manageable.
A Coffee Break from Deal-Making
From December 3–5, SeaOvers was also present at the Asia TV Market as a Coffee Point sponsor, offering free coffee and tea to all the attendees.
ATF is fast-paced, and we know that meaningful conversations don’t always happen inside meeting rooms. Sometimes, both content creators and buyers need a short break—a time to step away from negotiations, clear their minds, and recharge.
That was the idea behind the SeaOvers Coffee Point. Much like our role as a media technology company, we wanted to support the ecosystem in a practical way! We help people stay energized in a relaxed space where conversations could happen naturally. While the attendees were enjoying their coffee, our team shared how FAST works, explained our fair and sustainable revenue-sharing model, and discussed how SeaOvers helps deliver content globally and generate new revenue streams.
Spoke with Vietnam Today during ATF
During Asia TV Forum & Market, Vietnam Today — a news program under Vietnam Television (VTV) — interviewed SeaOvers’ Vice President of Business Development, John Lau, on the impact of generative AI on content production. The conversation explored how AI is helping content providers improve efficiency, scale localization, and enhance content quality. Watch the interview here.
Looking Ahead
It was a pleasure to drive the FAST conversation at Asia TV Forum & Market and to bring together so many content creators, producers, and distributors who are now exploring new ways to monetize and distribute their content internationally. We believe FAST will play an increasingly important role in the evolving streaming landscape in Asia, and we’re excited to be part of that journey.
We’d like to thank everyone who stopped by our Coffee Point and took the time to connect with us. If you’re interested in learning more about FAST, content distribution, or how to work with SeaOvers, we invite you to connect with us on LinkedIn or contact us here. Our team will always be happy to continue the conversation or arrange a live demo session to explore opportunities with you.
