The popularity of FAST services has helped LG Channels triple its user base in Europe in the past year.
According to LG data, as of January 2023 the number of LG Channels users in the 16 European markets where the service is offered grew by a factor of three. This significant boost in active users represents an increase of over 200%.
Along with this, there has been a noteworthy uptick in viewing time across several content categories, including movies, TV series, music and news.
It is forecast that global growth of FAST services and channels to continue, with the UK and Germany anticipated to be among the biggest FAST markets by 2027. To meet the growing demand for FAST, LG will bolster its service with new content, more of which will be made available on the mobile app and with new features.
LG Channels notes that it is constantly expanding its content library and offering an increasing number of local-language channels, spanning diverse categories such as news, lifestyle, TV series, movies and sports. When it comes to sports, thanks to a new partnership with DAZN, it will feature the new DAZN FAST and newly announced DAZN Rise, the first 24/7 streaming channel dedicated purely to women sports. Through a new partnership with Funke Digital, LG Channels now provides access to a variety of FAST channels covering some of the best fiction and entertainment contents, with plenty of films including PLAION’s Netzkino, ranging from action to thriller, comedy and romance.
LG has also expanded content availability on the LG Channels mobile app. In Germany, users can now watch hundreds of hours of content from 50 popular channels, including Auto Motor and Sport, which offers the latest in car testing and wedo TV, where viewers can watch a variety of free content from movies to sports.
Additionally, LG is launching AVOD titles in five European countries, with content offered in English, German, Spanish and other languages. These titles are provided thanks to collaborations with companies like Minerva Pictures, an independent film production and distribution company based in Rome, active in the film and audiovisual market since 1950, LoveTV Channels, which targets niche audiences passionate of themes such as cinema, environment or wine and Shoot for Love, which targets football fans.
Thanks to the collaboration with ITV Studios, new channels will be added such as Storylands, featuring European drama produced by ITV Studios labels in France, Italy and the Nordics, and Hell’s Kitchen, a programme hosted by Gordon Ramsay.