Streaming apps still have room to improve. Will they?
Streaming apps still have room to improve. Will they?
New data shows where streaming interfaces are still lagging behind, but streamers may not have a lot of incentive to change them.
Most viewers probably don’t spend a lot of time thinking about a streamer’s user interface — unless it’s failing or frustrating them. Fortunately, that doesn’t appear to be the case often; data from a survey published by Hub Research and CTAM found that 90% of respondents were either very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with the user experience on their TV apps.
But digging down a bit, the survey found plenty of ways that viewers think streaming services can improve their user interfaces. But that Are streamers really incentivized to do so? The methods that streamers have turned to to upgrade their user experiences of late suggest that they aren’t taking these customer concerns all that seriously.
Hub’s survey tested 20 common user experience (UX) issues on TV apps to discover how often they happened, and how annoying they were when they did. The worst design and navigation issues found were the “burying” of things like the Continue Watching row and the user’s saved Watch List.
Pinning the Continue Watching Row in a conspicuous place in the UX could help many streamers; 46% of respondents to Hub say they love the Continue Watching row, and 42% say that it would make their subscription more valuable. Crucially, 48% say it would make them more likely to keep a subscription.
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Placing Watchlists in an easy-to-find spot within the UX is also an easy way for streamers to improve their interfaces. Thirty-nine percent of respondents love the feature, and 43% say it would make them more likely to keep their subscription. More relevant recommendations can be a big help too, as 59% of Gen Z viewers and 45% of older viewers said that TV recommendations don’t feel like they’re actually designed for them.
But are streaming services really incentivized to fix the problem? In 2023, an interview with Ustwo digital designer Zac Snider revealed that for streaming services, hours of content watched is the true bottom line. Any efforts to make over streaming user interfaces are made with that in mind first; streamers use complex formulas to determine which shows to recommend, and that can often come at the expense of steering viewers toward content that’s actually relevant.
Most streaming services today seem to have the same answer for helping guide customers to more relevant content: artificial intelligence. HBO Max is just the latest streamer to incorporate AI into its search function, launching new discovery tools for users. But the trend has spread to essentially every top streaming service in the United States.
Customers aren’t resistant to AI per se, but it remains to be seen whether streaming services will actually train their agents to offer personalized content recommendations, or they will simply continue steering audiences toward shows that the streamer’s executives want to boost viewership for. Probably a little of both. Streamers are billing AI as the answer to all their customers’ discovery woes, but if they don’t actually use it to improve recommendations, they may continue to see lackluster engagement numbers.
Indeed, Netflix was recently reported as considering the addition of live streaming channels and other content to its platform to better engagement. The service has done a ton of work to overhaul its UX in the past year, and is now working on a rebuild of its website experience. New AI integrations rolled out on the Netflix connected TV app last year, but considering the recent news that Netflix engagement is sagging, it’s clear that the UX overhaul alone hasn’t driven hordes of daily viewers to the streamer.
For many streaming services, upgrades to the user experience on the level that Netflix has attempted are simply a low priority. With over 300 million global subscribers and a healthy quarterly profit margin, Netflix officials have more time to worry about perfecting the streamer’s UX. Some platforms are still figuring out how to become profitable on a regular basis, while others have parent companies that are trying to balance the needs of their streaming customers with failing linear channels and other major issues. Creating a truly perfect streaming UX likely isn’t all that high on the to-do list for these companies.
A streaming service can sink or swim on its user experience, and many have room to improve in the eyes of viewers. Unfortunately for customers who feel stuck wading through unintuitive streaming apps, programmers may continue to feel that prioritizing certain content will always take precedence over the most subscriber-friendly UX possible, unless they experience a major shock in viewership.
Netflix
Netflix is a leading subscription-based video streaming service that offers on-demand access to an extensive library of over 3,000 movies, 2,000+ TV shows, and a growing collection of acclaimed Netflix originals. Renowned for producing groundbreaking content, Netflix has become a cultural powerhouse with hit originals like “Stranger Things,” “Wednesday,” “Squid Game,” “The Crown,” “Tiger King,” “Bridgerton,” “The Witcher,” and “Black Mirror.”