It’s harder to find something to stream than ever before
It’s harder to find something to stream than ever before
A study from UserTesting found that viewers are still grappling with the difficulty of finding new content on streamers.
One of the unintended consequences of the onset of on-demand streaming is the amount of available content can be downright confounding. Year after year, surveys show that customers are having a difficult time finding something to watch because of the sheer volume of available titles, and the issue isn’t going away. That’s according to a survey fielded by UserTesting, which found that 20% of viewers say it’s harder to find something to watch than it was 10 years ago.
Key Details:
- Forty-one percent of respondents to UserTesting’s survey said bloated content libraries were the main source of their frustration.
- More than half say content recommendation algorithms on streamers can be overwhelming.
- Four out of ten respondents said free access to premium channels with their streamers would be an ideal scenario.
The study from UserTesting found that among viewers who say it’s harder to find something to watch, 41% say overstuffed content libraries are the cause of their frustration. Another 26% said the volume of originals available is overwhelming, numbers which tend to agree with my thoughts from last year that streamers might be trying to make content harder to find on purpose.
In addition, tools introduced to make content discovery easier are actually having the opposite effect. Three-quarters of respondents said they appreciated having content recommendation algorithms available, but 51% said the quality of recommendations was confounding since they wanted to stream every show they saw recommended and couldn’t choose between them.
Improving user interfaces would be a good idea for streamers who get poor marks in that department. The survey found that 52% of customers say user interfaces play a massive or significant role in their decision to sign up. Respondents were also asked what their dream streaming service would include, and 40% gave free access to premium channels with their subscription as their answer.
That last piece of data is good news for streamers like Paramount+ and Peacock, which include livestreams of CBS and NBC respectively on their ad-free tiers. It’s also a warning to Max, which is still mulling when to start charging for the Bleacher Report Sports add-on which provides live sporting events from TNT, TBS, and truTV. The original plan was to charge $10 per month for the add-on, but more than a year after launching it remains free to all Max subscribers.
Finally, the survey had important insights for streamers that are trying to improve customer loyalty. It found that 69% of viewers had been impacted by unexpected content removals and that streamers need to dampen the impact of these removals to keep customers engaged.
“When a show disappears, loyalty takes a hit,” said Bobby Meixner, Senior Director of Industry Solutions at UserTesting. “Transparency, user-friendly interfaces, and balanced content offerings are no longer just nice-to-have features—they’re critical to maintaining subscriber loyalty.”
Max
Max is a subscription video streaming service that gives access to the full HBO library, along with exclusive Max Originals. There are hubs for content from TLC, HGTV, Food Network, Discovery, TCM, Cartoon Network, Travel Channel, ID, and more. Watch hit series like “The Last of Us,” “House of the Dragon,” “Succession,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and more. Thanks to the B/R Sports add-on, users can watch NBA, MLB, NHL, March Madness, and NASCAR events.