Can this wasteland get any vaster?
I spelunk to the bottom of Amazon Prime’s Free Ad Supported TV (FAST) channel list
Way back in 1961, FCC Chairman Norman Minow famously described television as “a vast wasteland”. He challenged broadcasters to sit and watch a whole day of their own TV programming, with no distractions, effectively saying that most TV is garbage.
At the time, the only thing even close to “destination television” was probably Bonanza, one of the longest-running shows of all time, but nigh on unwatchable by today’s standards (‘Bananas for Bonanza’ notwithstanding.)
While TV in the 21st century is justifiably lauded as a new Golden Age in storytelling, the technology available through smart TVs means that the range of programming out there is a million times larger than it was even a few years ago.
Amazon Prime launched its live TV channels in the US in spring 2024 and expanded its offerings through 2025. Today, there are more than 500 channels in Prime’s live TV lineup. “How can this be?”, you may ask. “How can there be that many channels of high-quality, 24/7 entertainment out there??”
Obviously, it’s not all gonna be great. But what *is* out there? Fret not, fearless reader, you don’t have to spelunk into the depths of Amazon’s channels. I will do it for you!
There are a few channels that were punching above their weight when I was tuning in in early May, 2025:
- Qello Concerts by Stingray (https://qello.com/en/) was running a highly watchable Jack White concert! It looks like this is a case of Amazon actually saving you money, since a subscription to the channel through their website will run you $89 a year.
- Wondery channel’s We Playin’ Spades. This was a fun find. Much of the content on the other channels is heavily beeped and edited, and a little bland. Not this free-form, no holds barred discussion of American culture seen from the POV of four black actors/comedians who sometimes play Spades.
- NBC Bay Area: I’m a sucker for another city’s news. Unless you live in the Bay Area, watching the news and weather from the San Francisco region is a cheap little mental vacation.
Many, many, many of the channels on Amazon’s FAST list are dedicated channels, meaning they show all the episodes of just one show, for example:
- No Reservations, the food/travel show hosted by the late Anthony Bourdain
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents, which is probably one of those shows with a small, dedicated, aging fan base.
- Farscape, a show with sci-fi ambitions far in excess of its budget, or the capabilities of turn-of-the-century CGI / puppetry. I didn’t watch this show when it was new and it is now definitely not.
- The Munsters, a 60s sitcom about a family of suburban monsters who, turns out, are pretty boring. (Although note that Yvonne DeCarlo, Mrs. Munster, was a knockout!)
- For my money, The Addams Family is the far superior sitcom about weirdos, because they’re actually very odd people. So I like that there’s a channel dedicated just to this show. Could I watch it for more than five minutes? No…
Some of these dedicated streamers kinda make sense — a Buffy the Vampire Slayer channel is a no-brainer. It’s a great, highly re-watchable show that ran for seven seasons. Charmed is sort of “less so” across the board, but … The Charmed Ones were, you know, charming, so their dedicated streamer gets a pass.
Others make much less sense. I have yet to meet anyone who watched FX’s Nip/Tuck religiously, but it has its own channel.
Some other channels are kind of a mish-mash loosely structured around a theme. There’s ‘Horror Stories’, which was running the 80s sci-fi series ‘V’ when I tuned in. My recollection is that the original ‘V’, coming hard on the heels of Return of the Jedi (and using spaceships with a look similar to the Imperial Shuttle in Jedi), captivated the nation — but that might just be the unique perspective as a nerdy, small boy. So I feel like running episodes of ‘V’ is a perfectly sane and logical idea.
But, of course, there are plenty of offerings that are absolutely astonishing, like:
- Dungeons & Dragons Adventures, which runs a show called Encounter Party. In Encounter Party, you watch other people play D&D. This is one of the odder things you could possibly do with your time.
Of course, it is Amazon’s TV world, and you’re never far from Amazon “stuff”. Mrs. Maisel has a dedicated channel, which is not shocking. But I was surprised to find ‘Amazon Live’, a QVC-esque channel about things you can buy on Amazon. The business logic is obvious here, but on the other hand, since you can buy ANYTHING on Amazon, where do you start with you advertising (maybe just with the As?)?
That’s my report, folks. I’ll edit this story as I return for more helpings of FAST in the Amazon world.
What are *your* experiences with Amazon and Roku’s free streamers??
