Nearly half (46%) of viewers do not believe they are getting good value from major streaming services, with nearly a fifth (19%) saying they could do better, according to a survey by Bitcentral’s ViewNexa™, the unified workflow that simplifies video management, streaming, the consumer application experience, and distribution for media companies and content owners. The findings come from the company’s new report, ‘How to follow the audience: the challenges and opportunities in today’s streaming market.’
The research shows that under half of older viewers believe they are getting good value from their paid video subscriptions. There is an untapped opportunity to reach and monetize older viewers through advertising. Baby Boomers (aged 59-77) would be more likely to watch three ad breaks an hour (44%) than Millennials (32%). Netflix’s crackdown on password-sharing has not been popular, suggesting the initial boost the streaming giant has seen in subscriptions may be short-lived. Two-thirds (65%) of subscribers say the crackdown on password sharing has driven them to look elsewhere. Millennials (aged 27-42) say they are most likely to switch, with a third (33%) saying they are very likely to consider other providers.
Audiences are open to free, advertising-based options, with three-quarters (75%) saying they are interested in trying services like Pluto, Tubi, or Amazon Freevee – as long as they keep the ads short. Well over half (58%) say they would only watch a free streaming service if it had fewer and shorter ads than traditional commercial TV. Over half (56%) say they want ads to be under 30 seconds long.
There is an opportunity for ad-funded streaming services to counter any decrease in quantity through targeting, especially for free ad-supported TV (FAST) services. Over half (56%) of streaming subscribers say they are more willing to watch FAST services if ads are “highly relevant” to them - good news for those offering contextualized ads in niche interest services. Advertising-based streaming services that consider local preferences also stand to generate more ad revenues. A fifth (19%) of New York residents consider six or more ad breaks per hour acceptable, while in California this figure drops to just 13%.
“Despite what may seem a crowded marketplace, there is ample opportunity for companies with high-quality content to succeed in the direct-to-consumer streaming market,” said Greg Morrow, GM Streaming Media Group, Bitcentral. “A lot of the industry conversation is dominated by big streaming services that cater to a mass market, but there are whole swathes of viewers who are more than open to change and embrace advertising if the content and price point are right. There is a fantastic opportunity for D2C providers with access to first-party data to grow revenues by catering better to the nuances among their audience, such as age, location, and genre.”
‘How to follow the audience: the challenges and opportunities in the streaming market today’ is available to download at: https://content.bitcentral.com/viewnexa-survey-report
