FreeCast, the company behind the hybrid broadcast-streaming television platform of the same name, says it will launch its service offerings in the Caribbean next month.
Consumers in the U.S. Virgin Islands, British West Indies, Dutch Antilles, The Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and additional island nations will have access to FreeCast’s platform, featuring hundreds of free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels, as well as newly-added ones from the Caribbean and Miami TV markets.
The FreeCast platform includes a whole-home solution that leverages a white-label, NextGen TV-capable broadcast TV tuner to deliver linear broadcast and streaming channels on connected TV devices like those made by Roku and Amazon. In addition to its consumer products, FreeCast works with multifamily housing providers, Internet service providers, broadcasters and the hospitality industry, and will be extending those services to the Caribbean starting May 19. In doing so, FreeCast says its platform will be accessible to as many as 10 million broadcast and streaming TV consumers on the islands.
Currently, most Caribbean TV stations rely heavily on over-the-air (OTA) broadcasting, which often struggles with reliability and reach compared to the mobile networks and wireless internet services that serve over 98 percent of the region’s population. FreeCast’s entry into the market offers broadcasters a powerful alternative: the ability to distribute their channels across the entire Caribbean and even to US audiences and beyond. Stations can choose to offer their channels free with ads or via subscription models, keeping 100 percent of the revenue from locally sold advertisements and receiving 25 percent of ad revenue from spots filled by FreeCast.
FreeCast CEO William Mobley outlined the company’s ambitions and the strategic significance of the expansion: “This is so much bigger than just a launch in a new region. Equally important or more so than the new potential customer base are the relationships we’re building in the region, with broadcasters and distribution partners. The island nations that make up the Caribbean market have unique characteristics and challenges for media. We believe FreeCast can be a great direct-to-mobile tool in that context, because our service is reliable even on inexpensive phones and hardware. If we can demonstrate success, that opens up world-wide possibilities that are very exciting.”
With the Caribbean launch, FreeCast aims to position itself as a new entertainment option for consumers and a strategic partner for regional broadcasters seeking to expand their audiences and revenues in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
