The term was coined by Alan Wolk to differentiate the category in a December 2018 article in TVREV.
[9] Content options can include original and/or archive programming not available through subscription streaming services.
Although many FAST channels resemble traditional cable specialty channels, others may have an even narrower focus on a single program or media franchise (such as Cops, Baywatch, Unsolved Mysteries, or the American version of Fear Factor).
[11] While some linear FAST channels are exclusive to specific platforms, others, such as Cheddar and Court TV are distributed through multiple providers.
[12] Linear channels that are carried both on subscription multichannel television and on FAST services usually have different program lineups for each, effectively creating a freemium model; Newsmax TV, which previously carried the same content on both feeds, downgraded its FAST feed to "Newsmax2," with reduced content, to allow the multichannel service to collect retransmission fees from providers and regain leverage it had lost in carriage disputes by offering its main feed free.