Report: Live TV Sees Rebound Thanks to “Yellowstone,” “House of the Dragon”; Viewers Want Universal Streaming Search

On Monday, Hub Research released its annual “Conquering Content” survey, which measures the ways in which audiences discover and watch movies and TV series. The report features some interesting insights into traditional TV providers like cable and satellite TV.

The numbers indicate that such linear TV sources saw a bit of a rebound in 2022, at least when it comes to the sources customers went to for their favorite shows. According to Hub’s numbers, the percentage of respondents who said that their favorite show came from an online source has plateaued at 75%, the same figure as 2021. Meanwhile, the number that said their favorite show was from a traditional source — also known as multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) — ticked up slightly from 21% last year to 23% this year.

When it comes to new shows, the biggest loser in popularity has been Netflix. At its peak, the streaming giant saw 38% of respondents to Hub’s annual survey say their favorite show came from the service. Now that number is down to 29%, tied for the lowest since 2016 and only eight points higher than the percentage of customers who answered that their recently discovered favorite show came from an MVPD. The 21% for traditional sources represents a 6% bounce and is the highest since 2019.

So what explains the uptick in viewers heading to linear TV for new shows? Of the 10 most frequently named shows that viewers identified as their favorites, four of them — including three of the top four — are available on live, linear TV: “Yellowstone” on Paramount Network “House of the Dragon” on HBO, “Ghosts,” and “NCIS,” both on CBS.

“Insert overused expression here: ‘content is king,’ etc. But cliché or not, it’s clear from these results that viewers will happily go to whatever platform has exclusive rights to the most popular TV shows and movies du jour,” Hub principal and report co-author Peter Fondulas said. “Over the past few years, those shows have been increasingly offered by streaming services. But as franchises like ‘Yellowstone’ and ‘Game of Thrones’ demonstrate, streaming does not have a necessary monopoly on buzz-worthy content.”

The numbers should not come as a big surprise to streaming providers. Creating customer loyalty is key to reducing churn and keeping users from defecting to other services — either streamers or MVPDs. Audiences are eight times as likely to keep a streaming service that they identify as a default, so it would behoove streamers like Netflix and Disney+ to keep introducing content that customers might identify as their next favorite.

Hub’s data also indicates that the public wants to be able to find their favorite shows more easily. The numbers indicate that 61% of respondents wanted a universal search feature that allows them to see content on any streaming platform. Interestingly, the report found that 48% of users now have access to some kind of universal search feature, but only 41% actually use it.

That suggests that some providers, like smart TV manufacturers who utilize universal search methods, need to do a better job of making those search features easier for their customers to find or use. Scrolling through streaming services looking for the same show can cause customer frustration, and may even lead to some canceling their services when they cannot find the show they want.

Finally, the report found that trailers are a major influencing factor in how customers decide to watch new shows. At a rate of 63%, respondents said that they were more likely to watch a new show or movie if they could see a trailer first. Companies have taken this to heart as 78% of survey participants said they saw a trailer for their new favorite show via an autoplay feature, compared to just 22% who said they clicked on the trailer deliberately.

Just showing audiences promotional material instead of requiring them to seek it out is clearly working for content providers. Videos that run on autoplay are often thought to be irritating for viewers, but as they’re performing their intended function for companies — and customers seem to be appreciating them — expect to see even more auto-play videos popping up across the media landscape.