A third of streaming subscribers want better content discovery – Media Play News

Stephanie Prange

March 31, 2022

According to new research from Interpret, consumers are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of content from streaming video providers and increasingly frustrated with the effort it takes to access it.

Among streaming service subscribers, a third express an interest in being able to manage and search their available content from one place, according to Interpret’s study, “The Future of OTT Aggregation.” Consumers want aggregation services to help eliminate pain points in the subscription process. They also expect bundles to provide greater value, as well as improved account management, content discovery and recommendation functionality, according to the study.

The study found that US viewers subscribe to an average of four to five SVOD services, with the majority also accessing several ad-supported or ad-supported on-demand services. More than 20% of US consumers agree that they “subscribe to too many video streaming services”.

Among other discoveries:

• Consumers expect financial value from all bundled offers, but also derive increasing personal value from offers that eliminate pain points in the subscription (and cancellation) process.
• Most aggregation providers focus on front-end content interfaces and discovery tools, but it’s possible to offer significant differentiation through wallet management and payment tools.
• Content providers impede the progress of aggregation because they struggle to retain control over their own parts of the content journey (and associated data collection and advertising opportunities).

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“Combating fragmentation will be tricky because there are so many service options, each with their own revenue, data and audience priorities. Yet companies that solve the aggregation puzzle have a lot to gain,” said Brett Sappington, vice president of Interpret, in a statement. “Successful aggregation of content and services will produce an improved and sustainable customer experience and generate subscription and advertising revenue opportunities. This will also be important for mid-sized or smaller streaming services that cannot afford market global or regional streaming giants.

“The Future of OTT Aggregation” is based on industry research, interviews with market leaders and innovators, and online survey data from 9,000 US consumers.