Questions to Ask
Understanding the future of consumer’s streaming behavior starts with answering these questions:
Will consumers develop decision fatigue?
Some would argue many consumers already feel overwhelmed with all of the content available to them and that it’s impossible to keep up with every show that starts trending across each streaming service.
Every service has an original show or two that most consumers consider must-haves that they use to justify a subscription, and services will need more must-have shows to demand more of consumers’ entertainment budgets.
Consumer findability is also becoming a pain point as people are confused about where to find their favorite shows as licensing rights change hands.
How much content will actually get people to subscribe?
Streaming services will soon learn how much content is too much and how thin they can spread themselves before quality is sacrificed for quantity.
Most major media companies are already evolving to an always-on model of distribution, said Jay Mellman, Vice President, Client and Segment Strategy at Epsilon and based in San Francisco. Live TV has become a critical piece in the spectrum of three-day, seven-day, and 30-day viewership patterns alongside streaming.
“The challenge for these companies is the accurate measurement and analysis of the longer-tail viewership to capture the appropriate revenue,” said Mellman. “These media giants have to launch streaming for both offense – maximizing the value of their catalog – and defense – they are competing for eyeballs against Netflix and Amazon Prime. So, whether or not they like it or understand it, they are in a business of monetizing their content everywhere.”
Disney+ debuted with more than 80 years' worth of TV and movies, plus new original shows based on Disney’s existing intellectual property. Disney has a brand affinity that arguably no other streaming service can compete with, but how Disney+ will help subscribers navigate its content universe leads to our next question.