Viewers love choice, but still struggle with content discovery
Viewers love choice, but still struggle with content discovery
New data from Hub Research shows that audiences will often turn to YouTube if they can’t find something to stream on a subscription.
How are viewers deciding what to watch next, especially in an age of bundled content where multiple streaming services are packaged together? That’s what Hub Research’s annual “Conquering Content” study seeks to answer. The survey found that while people do enjoy the additional choice they have with getting access to more content, they still struggle with content discovery at times.
Key Details:
- Looking backward: Sixty percent of new favorite shows discovered in the past year are older titles.
- Why that one?: Less than half of viewers say they see recommendations for shows they actually like.
- Going elsewhere: When viewers don’t find something to watch, they often turn to YouTube instead.
Combo options like the Disney Bundle or the new package of Apple TV and Peacock are giving viewers access to big libraries of content at discounted prices. Viewers are finding new favorites in this manner, but most often these titles are not shows that have released their first seasons in the past year.
Hub’s survey found that 60% of customers identified an older show that already has multiple seasons available to stream as their new favorite series, as opposed to a recently released show that was currently unfolding or just one season already out. Among young people, this trend is even more pronounced; 65% of viewers age 16 to 34 say their new favorite show is an older release with lots of episodes to binge.
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Unfortunately, recommendation algorithms aren’t quite keeping up with viewer expectations as they look to new interests. Only 46% of subscribers say that recommendations offer them shows they like, whether they be new shows, original content, or licensed titles, versus 54% who say that recommendations only promote new titles from that particular streamer.
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That leaves streamers with an age-old problem of keeping subscribers engaged with their services. Bundles help alleviate this problem somewhat; audiences are more incentivized to find a new title in a bundled product, since canceling one service within the bundle means they have to cancel all.
Still, streamers should take steps to encourage viewers to stay around by tweaking their content recommendation algorithms unless they want to lose viewership to YouTube. Hub’s data found that nearly 8 out of 10 people who use YouTube say they turn to that platform at least some of the time when they can’t find something to watch on their favorite streamers. That number jumps to 90% among viewers 16 to 34.
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“With so many choices, matching viewers to programs that fit their taste and mood continues to be one of the toughest tasks for TV providers,” Hub senior consultant Jason Platt Zolov said. “But viewers love having tons of options and lean into old favorites as a way to keep watching until a new hit breaks through. Streamers that deliver a balance of those old gems with well-timed exclusive new content will breed the strongest loyalties from viewers.”
Disney+
Disney+ is a video streaming service with over 13,000 series and films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, The Muppets, and more. It is available in 61 countries and 21 languages. It is notable for its popular original series like “The Mandalorian,” “Ms. Marvel,” “Loki,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and “Andor.”