What is your strategic plan?

For 30 years, FSTV has provided news, analysis, and storytelling to inform, educate, and inspire its loyal and engaged community of viewers in order to advance progressive change. Throughout, it has been a leading video-focused nonprofit news organization reaching millions of viewers via Dish and Satellite TV, as well as via Broadcast TV via local media partnerships.

However, outside of limited donor information about FSTV’s supporters, very little data is available about FSTV viewers – the number of viewers; demographics such as their age, location, identities, interests; nor, their patterns of viewership. These massive gaps in data have greatly limited FSTV’s ability to make evidence-based, data-driven decisions, especially as it relates to programming choices, marketing messaging, and viewer engagement strategies.

To address these gaps, FSTV has more recently prioritized streaming content via its own website and its FSTV apps to simultaneously reach more viewers and gain more actionable insights about their preferences. This increased attention to viewers’ demographics, preferences, and engagement with FSTV’s programming and messaging is critical to FSTV’s strategic planning and its ultimate success.

Compounding these data-related gaps is the increased polarization and ideological division within the US populace and the public’s erosion of trust across institutions, especially news. The trifecta of the ease of swiftly spreading disinformation, shrinking independent media ecosystem, and rapid technical changes that FSTV have to contend with are particularly relevant as FSTV charts its path forward.

Fortunately, FSTV’s mission to empower the grassroots power of ordinary people to transform our world into one that is just, equitable, and sustainable remains critical and resonant.

Additionally, its particular focus on amplifying content that advances multiracial democracy in the United States to dismantle injustice and inequity, showcases its values in action, and its focus will help further attract top-tier talent, cultivate value-aligned partnerships, attract audiences, and galvanize viewers. FSTV’s deeply committed and long-tenured staff, Board, and exceptionally loyal individual donor community are the foundation of its success and remain paramount in ensuring FSTV is able to advance its mission and thrive as a legacy organization that adapts to meet the challenges and opportunities of the times.

This document works to spotlight the primary strategic shifts that FSTV will prioritize over the next three years (2025-2027) in order to best operationalize its ambition and scale-up its impact.

Our Three-Year Strategic Vision spans from 2025 – 2028. By the end of this three-year period:

1. FSTV will be the leading video network and streaming service in the US for news and stories that promote a people-powered, multiracial democracy. FSTV’s editorial voice will be based on the Race Class Narrative that highlights intersectional struggles and common oppressors to build unified power.
2. FSTV’s 24/7 broadcast will be available on all major streaming platforms in the U.S. and FSTV’s streaming apps will offer a robust archive of video on demand for progressive news, analysis, entertainment, and films.
3. FSTV will have reached or be nearing 1 million unique monthly streaming viewers via its website and FSTV apps, with more than 1 million downloads. Additionally, FSTV will continue to reach rural communities through Dish and DirecTV satellite distribution as well as expanded reach on public access stations nationwide, as long as demand remains.

4. FSTV’s programming will have shifted away from catastrophizing and instead deepened its commitment to inspiring viewers and activating them to take civic action.

5. FSTV will have become the movement’s media network. Movement organizations will increasingly reach-out to be on FSTV’s network. Additionally, FSTV will be becoming a go-to place for progressive changemakers and policymakers to get insights, ideas, and inspiration directly from the grassroots.
6. FSTV will feature more innovative, enriching, educational, and joyful news, commentary, and entertainment programming through funding and thought partnerships with other values-aligned organizations on five primary evergreen thematic areas, including: economic justice, democracy/popular democracy, wellbeing, immigration justice, racial justice, and environmental justice.
7. FSTV will have taken opportunities to shift representation on air. By 2027, we aim to ensure 50% or more of program hosts and producers are women, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA+ identified mediamakers.
8. FSTV will have begun to inspire other media networks’ coverage to be more inclusive of those most affected, working to shift media narratives to be less reflective of systemic racism and instead to amplify underrepresented peoples, cultures, stories, and calls for change.
9. FSTV will have fully integrated comprehensive viewer and user analytics to define and prioritize FSTV current and potential viewers. With this data, FSTV will have designed evidence-based marketing, social media, and engagement strategies.
10. FSTV will have established a sustainable enterprise model and diversified revenue streams to ensure an $8-$10 million per year operational budget.
11. FSTV will be a thriving, impactful, and interdisciplinary team of 25-30 staff, 12-15 Board members, and a vibrant cohort of volunteers and interns who are deeply committed to FSTV’s success and prioritize co-creating a vibrant team culture of joy, creativity, and belonging.
12. FSTV will have determined the next best growth step, and likely be completing a capital campaign and strategic planning process to launch FSTV Studios, a separate media production house that will co-produce and co-create exemplary journalism and impact-driven media for direct-to-air on FSTV.

FSTV’s primary purpose is to be the leading media network and streaming service in the US for news and stories to build a more just world.