Workflow guide · FAST and streaming
FAST vendor contracts: the terms to fix before you sign
The playout quote is the number everyone negotiates. It is rarely the number you end up paying. These are the cost traps and contract terms that operators find after launch, and how to close them before you sign.
Price the whole stack, not playout
A playout quote covers building the linear stream. A channel that actually runs also needs most of this list. Even after you negotiate good discounts, the full bill is usually a multiple of the first quote:
- Master control for each path you serve, such as FAST and cable or satellite (MVPD), which may be separate
- A traffic system for scheduling and ad logs
- Transport to each platform
- Platform-specific feeds, when one platform needs its own version of the channel
- Live hours, often billed by the hour
Then come the usage fees on top: SSAI priced per thousand impressions, and markups on third-party ad platforms routed through the vendor. Ask for a fully loaded monthly estimate at your expected volume, in writing, with every usage fee shown.
Watch the trade-off in a rate cut. A lower monthly rate can quietly remove something that was bundled before, such as included live hours. Compare the full line-item list before and after, not just the total.
Contract terms to fix before you sign
| Term in the first draft | Why it hurts | Ask for |
|---|---|---|
| No service level agreement | An outage costs you ad revenue and platform standing, and the vendor owes you nothing | An uptime commitment with tiered service credits, and a chronic-outage clause that lets you terminate |
| Long lock-in with no termination for convenience | You can't leave if service or pricing gets worse | A shorter initial term, or termination for convenience with defined notice |
| The vendor can revisit pricing, with no cap | The rate you negotiated is temporary | Fixed pricing for the term, or a capped annual increase |
| Usage fees not itemized | Your cost rises with success in ways you can't forecast | A rate card for every metered fee, and notice before any change |
| Duplicate line items on the rate card | You pay twice for the same service | A line-by-line reconciliation before signing |
Check what the new contract leaves behind
When you sign a new statement of work, confirm in writing that it supersedes the old ones. An earlier SOW that was never used can still carry liability, sometimes for the full remaining value of the contract. Do the same check for verbal promises: if a price, a credit or a free service was promised on a call, it isn't real until it's in the paperwork.
Don't build on an informal arrangement
Hosting a channel on a partner's infrastructure under a handshake works until the partner has a problem. Without a signed agreement you have no SLA, no notice period and no exit plan. Two protections are worth having from day one:
- A backup master-control path you can cut over to without a rebuild.
- A traffic system you chose on purpose. A stopgap system tends to become the permanent one, including systems that were never designed for FAST.
Keep control of your inventory where it counts
On broadcast and cable distribution, keep the right to sell your own ad inventory. That is where direct advertiser relationships pay. On OTT and FAST platforms, revenue-share deals are often the practical choice until you have ad sales scale. Decide this per distribution path, not once for the whole company.
Confirm whose name is on the contract
Check that your company is the licensee of record on every distribution and content agreement. When a related company, a former partner or a vendor holds the contract, you may not control renewals, revenue or the exit.
Have a vendor draft on your desk? The diagnostic includes a line-by-line review of FAST vendor proposals and contracts. We are not lawyers, so have counsel review the final language. For pre-deal reviews, use the media-tech diligence checklist.