Patrice Courtaban, EVP of global growth and business development at TV5MONDE and CEO of TV5MONDE USA, joined ScreenMDM Talks’ The SwitchScreen strand to weigh in on how the French-language broadcaster is betting on CTV expansion and AI discovery tools to power its international reach.
According to Courtaban in this in-depth interview, which is available on YouTube, Spotify and Apple, FAST is not an additional tactic for TV5MONDE but rather a fundamental element of a wider strategy designed to reach viewers wherever they are and to prepare the channel operator for a future—not too far away—in which AI will take the lead in guiding content discovery.
Expanding a Global Footprint
TV5MONDE has been a key offering on pay-TV platforms across the globe, but as the overall content business shifted to a streaming-first landscape, the French-language broadcaster began building a FAST footprint about two years ago, Courtaban says in this week’s episode of ScreenMDM Talks.
While the U.S. remains the major hub of the global FAST business, the broadcaster has seen significant momentum elsewhere as well, building its reach across Europe, the Asia Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa, where a younger population is driving rapid adoption of the latest CTVs. “It’s not a huge market from an advertising standpoint, but definitely growing with CPMs,” he said of the Gulf region specifically.
The underlying philosophy, as a public-service broadcaster, is to be present wherever audiences choose to watch—whether that’s FAST, YouTube, or virtual MVPDs. Courtaban describes today’s viewers as “increasingly platform-agnostic,” gravitating toward whatever access point is simplest. That shift has prompted a strategic reframing internally: “For a long time, content was king, distribution was essential,” he said. “But we believe in the era of AI, discoverability is the new competitive edge.”
Navigating the New Gatekeepers
High-quality content and broad distribution remain paramount, but Courtaban is clear that great programming alone isn’t enough in a saturated market. Device manufacturers and the operating systems that control the CTV home screen have become increasingly powerful gatekeepers for visibility.
“If you want to be seen on CTV and not just be an app within thousands of other apps, you have to discuss the best possible outcome with the CTVs,” Courtaban explained.
Rather than negotiating market by market, TV5MONDE is pursuing direct agreements with OS partners, shifting away from siloed thinking to place its apps and FAST channels on home screens globally. The goal is a coordinated strategy where FAST channels take priority in some regions while the AVOD app, TV5MONDE+, leads in others, depending on local brand awareness and audience behavior.
AI as the Next Discovery Layer
Being ready for a future where users turn to AI to find something to watch, rather than endless scrolling, is key to TV5MONDE’s current strategy, Courtaban notes. AI is also enabling local subtitling across the TV5MONDE portfolio, while expert curation has helped the broadcaster begin to address the discovery conundrum.
“We are still in the experimentation phase because we always try to learn, and every market is different,” he said. “When we launched our FAST channels, we looked at the markets and tried to identify the drivers across all regions. Also, where can we launch a FAST channel where the space isn’t already overcrowded? If you have 20 drama series channels, maybe that’s not where we want to be. We’re always trying to differentiate.”
TV5MONDE Voyage, a lifestyle-and-discovery channel spanning trends, fashion, craft, and travel, and TV5MONDE Info, a live news channel, lean into easy, lean-back viewing that can cut through the clutter on FAST.
The CPM Roadblock
Low CPMs and ad-tech fragmentation remain pain points across FAST; launching a channel is easy enough today, but monetizing it meaningfully is not. As the market matures, advertisers are seeking quality environments, premium content, and verified CPMs, Courtaban asserts. “It’s not just about reach,” he said. “It’s making sure that whatever you invest in can actually be verified.”
TV5MONDE’s answer has been to lean into its reputation for premium content and to explore monetization environments others haven’t prioritized. Chief among them: out-of-home (OOH) FAST distribution. The company has launched its FAST channels across 30 hotel brands in the U.S. “When people watch in a hotel room, it’s almost like a theater—you have their full attention,” Courtaban said. Building on that success, TV5MONDE is now eyeing additional OOH verticals—airlines, cruise ships, and automotive screens.
YouTube is also a key prong in TV5MONDE’s distribution ethos, Courtaban explained, especially as the demos of audiences using that platform as their default home screen increase. Ultimately, he stressed, it’s about meeting audiences wherever they are.
