FAST Readiness Checklist

52 items to validate before your FAST channel goes live

The FAST Readiness Checklist

Use this checklist before submitting to any FAST platform. It covers the five readiness areas: rights and metadata, schedule and programming, playout, ad operations, and distribution.

Area 1: Rights & Metadata

  • Linear/FAST rights confirmed per title and territory
  • Rights expiry dates logged and scheduled in playout
  • All titles have clean title, description, genre, and rating fields
  • Series content has season and episode numbers
  • Duration is accurate to the second for all titles
  • Content IDs are consistent across metadata system and playout

Area 2: Schedule & Programming

  • Schedule strategy chosen (wheel / block / dayparting)
  • 14+ days of schedule built and validated
  • No title repeats within spacing rules (e.g. 48-hour rule)
  • Ad break positions placed every 15–20 minutes for long-form
  • SCTE-35 markers placed and validated
  • EPG feed generating correctly
  • Promo/bumper content in schedule
  • Fallback content configured

Area 3: Playout

  • Playout engine configured and tested (7-day run)
  • Primary + backup stream paths confirmed
  • HLS output at 3+ quality tiers
  • CDN configured with correct origins
  • Stream URL tested on target CTV devices
  • Low-latency HLS enabled (if live adjacency required)
  • Monitoring alerts configured

Area 4: Ad Operations

  • SSAI integration configured and tested
  • Ad server connected (GAM / SpringServe / FreeWheel)
  • SCTE-35 → ad trigger path tested end-to-end
  • Ad load confirmed within platform limits (4–8 min/hr)
  • Frequency caps configured
  • Measurement tracking events validated (VAST)
  • Consent signals handled (if targeting EU audiences)

Area 5: Distribution

  • Channel artwork produced per platform specs
  • Platform accounts created and onboarding submitted
  • Technical requirements passed per platform QA
  • Revenue share terms confirmed and documented
  • Platform dashboard access set up
  • First EPG delivery confirmed per platform

Download the full checklist as a spreadsheet — book a call and we'll send it with your channel details pre-filled.

Want the full checklist as a spreadsheet?

Book a FAST launch call.

Get the Checklist