FAST FESTIVAL 2025
Running online from July 23 to July 25, the third edition of the FAST Festival will explore the FAST and AVOD segment.
Need to convert the times below for where you are? Click on the times above the name of each session to make sure you don’t miss a thing!
Wednesday, July 23
9 a.m. EDT
Pluto TV’s Olivier Jollet
The third edition of the FAST Festival kicks off with a conversation with Olivier Jollet, executive VP and international general manager of Pluto TV, on scaling the platform’s global presence, channel curation and the importance of partnerships.
10 a.m. EDT
Lightning International’s James Ross
James Ross, CEO, will share with FAST Festival delegates how Lightning International is navigating the crowded European FAST landscape and finding new expansion opportunities across the Asia Pacific.
11 a.m. EDT
Rakuten TV’s Marcos Milanez
Marcos Milanez, chief content officer at Rakuten TV, returns to the FAST Festival to share his programming strategy across FAST, on-demand and TVOD.
Thursday, July 24
9 a.m. EDT
All3Media International’s FAST Track
Exploring All3Media International’s approach to windowing, curation and more, FAST Festival delegates will hear from Gary Woolf, executive VP of strategic development, and Amanda Stevens, senior VP of global digital partnerships.
10 a.m. EDT
BBC Studies Goes FAST
Kasia Jablonska, director of digital and on-demand for EMEA at BBC Studios, joins the FAST Festival to share how the IP powerhouse is capitalizing on its deep library to find new ways to engage with audiences.
11 a.m. EDT
pocket.watch’s Albie Hecht
pocket.watch has expanded its franchise-building flywheel to also include FAST channels; the company’s chief content officer, Albie Hecht, will speak at the FAST Festival about how the outfit approaches curating its digital-first content slate for a linear, lean-back viewing experience.
12 p.m. EDT
Radial Entertainment’s Garson Foos
On the heels of Shout! Studios’ merger with FilmRise, Garson Foos, CEO of Radial Entertainment, will weigh in on digital distribution opportunities for the combined independent outfit.
Friday, July 25
9 a.m. EDT
Independent Spirit: The Platform Perspective
A veteran of the global pay-TV channels business, Chris Sharp will join the FAST Festival to share how wedotv is curating a slate of channels for its AVOD platform.
10 a.m. EDT
Independent Spirit: The Producer Perspective
Brian Volk-Weiss, CEO of The Nacelle Company, will share with FAST Festival viewers how his indie has developed a multiplatform ecosystem for its content, including rolling out the popular Comedy Dynamics FAST channel curated from its library of stand-up performances.
11 a.m. EDT
Speaking Spanish: The U.S. Hispanic Opportunity
With U.S. Hispanic audiences over-indexing in FAST usage, FAST Festival delegates will hear from Karsten Amlie, senior VP of content distribution and general counsel at Canela Media, about serving the needs of this demographic.
