Broadband TV News: Mainstream Media plans FAST channel expansion – is there also a possibility of returning to Sky?

Story from Broadband TV News:

German media company Mainstream Media is gearing up to expand its portfolio of FAST Channels, while flagship channel GoldStar TV could make a return to pay-TV platform Sky Deutschland.

“We have appetite for more,” CEO Tim Werner told Broadband TV News, pointing to the company’s ambitions to launch additional FAST Channels after the strong performance of GoldStar TV and the recently introduced Kultkrimi. At the same time, Werner revealed that discussions with Sky are well underway: “We are in persistent conversations,” he said, signaling the company’s openness to exploring further opportunities with pay-TV platforms.

Mainstream Media’s strategic push into FAST is already showing results. GoldStar TV, the group’s German Schlager pay-TV music channel, is available in a free, advertising-funded streaming version on more than 13 million devices across Germany, Austria and Switzerland. It reaches over 1 million video views and more than 1 million streamed minutes per month.

With its World of Free Sports and Filmgold channels, the company is part of the recently launched FAST Channel portfolio on Vodafone Deutschland’s GigaTV platform and will also contribute channels to the FAST line-up Deutsche Telekom plans to introduce on its MagentaTV platform this autumn, announced Werner.

Mainstream Media’s crime-focused FAST Channel Kultkrimi, which launched in April 2025, quickly became “one of the most successful channels on Samsung TV Plus,” said Werner. Its strong performance has encouraged the broadcaster to explore additional genre-based offerings, although no concrete new channel has been announced yet.

While FAST continues to drive growth, Mainstream Media has not given up on traditional distribution platforms. Werner confirmed that discussions are taking place with Sky Deutschland, where GoldStar TV was previously carried before its removal in 2017. The loss of the platform at the time came as a major blow to the small music channel, forcing cost-cutting measures and a shift in strategy.

“We had to significantly downsize,” Werner recalled. “Without a strong distribution partner, the costs were simply not sustainable.” The company responded quickly, securing new partners such as waipu.tv and Amazon Prime Video, and expanding into the streaming space. Now, nearly a decade later, GoldStar TV’s return to Sky would mark a significant milestone in boosting its technical reach.

GoldStar TV recently marked its 25th anniversary, not with a lavish celebration, but with a digital press conference. Several prominent artists and long-time companions joined the stream, including Claudia Jung, who will go on a major tour in late 2025 to mark her 40 years on stage, celebrity singer and songwriter Michael Holm, TV show host Frederic Meisner, newcomer Max Weidner and rising star Anna-Maria Zivkov.

Founder Gottfried Zmeck, who launched GoldStar TV in 2000, also made an appearance, joining the conference remotely. “The Schlager genre has reached a new level of quality and broader acceptance,” he said. “And I believe we helped make that happen with GoldStar TV.”

Much has changed since the early days, when Zmeck threw a launch party big enough to attract German media mogul Leo Kirch. What began as a niche pay-TV channel for Schlager fans is now a key part of a multi-platform strategy spanning pay-TV, streaming bundles and the FAST segment.

With over 300,000 pay-TV subscribers and a FAST Channel strongly growing in reach, GoldStar TV stands as a case study in media reinvention. Mainstream Media’s push for more channels and wider distribution is paying off, strengthening its footprint in the transforming TV market.