the different economics around bundling multiple streaming services , Bisson suggest the other thing that service providers can leverage is aggregation and discovery , i . e ., how do you navigate across multiple streaming services . “ It ’ s partly out of their hands ,” he admits . “ It all depends on what access Netflix , Amazon and others will give them to their metadata and their audience data . There are difficult conversations to be had there and difficult power balances to work through . Aggregation is absolutely key to their survival . The quicker they can get on with it the better . UI really is one of the next big challenges that no one ’ s managed to solve . It ’ s a real difficult one . The technology exists , it ’ s just the business relationships . It takes too long to find what you want to watch because each UI is different and you have to come in and out of one to the other . That ’ s as much a hindrance to the take up of multiple streaming services as the cost . Finding a way to discount bundles and cross-navigate could break us through the ceiling ,” he concludes .
“ We will see this sector increasingly grow in significance , key to this will be reach , likely through partnerships ,” suggests Sidebottom . “ Seventy per cent of users on key SVoD services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video say that their preferred viewing device is TV based . In addition , growth in service stacking and consumers more actively managing their subscriptions will continue . Futuresource estimates that typically in Europe , SVoD households now take on average between two and three SVoD services . Futuresource ’ s Living With Digital survey also suggests that approximately 30 per cent of SVoD subscribers say they will take at least one more service in 2021 , although slightly fewer say they will also dip in and out of services more than they did in 2020 . Therefore the need for super aggregation , whether through pay-TV providers or third party aggregators , will grow as an important consideration for users ,” he predicts . SHUFFLE . “ The UI , personal recommendations , and discovery will be a very important component of the success of any of the players as they put content in front of their customers ,” comments McCarthy . “ Continued aggregation of content , elegantly presented to a customer , with high degrees of personalisation will continue to please viewers . The user
“ We are an aggregator offering our customers a fast and intuitive experience , personalised to them .” – David Bouchier , Virgin Media experience will continue to be geared towards keeping the consumer engaged with their platform . They will all strive to keep you using their UI to find and watch the next show , for example , Netflix implementing new features occasionally such as the ‘ Shuffle ’ button beneath your user profile icon .”
“ Consumers want one place to find all of their content ,” asserts Routt . “ On retail devices like Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV , deep integration into the retail platform OS discovery services takes priority over driving differentiation with UX . The retail platforms want to own the doorstep to discovery across all apps on their device . On managed set-top boxes , the pay-TV UX will tightly integrate the catalogues of the other apps on the device into the MVPD catalogue . Operators can charge for sponsored content results and influence a consumer ’ s decision-making in what services they use in their digital life . For pay-TV operators who are in it for the long game , both retail and managed strategies are necessary .”
“ With a fragmented content offering and more and more choice , third-party UI and discovery are vital parts of providing relevant and engaging content to viewers ,” says Eisenberg . “ Helping viewers find the right content , managing their spend and precious time will only become more significant . The key is using metadata and APIs to allow a good blend of automated , personalised AIpowered content presentation and editorial . The focus should be relevance combined with easy access to content to help viewers who know what they want to watch , and those that want a new , instant recommendation without having to browse for hours on end .” DISCOVERY . “ Third-party discovery is an interesting feature that would benefit the consumer , but I have doubts that the app and content owners would fully support it ,” admits Bergenwall . “ Networks want to be their own aggregators so they can be frontfacing with their audiences and keep them in their own domain . Third-party discovery would cause them to lose direct touchpoints with their audiences and run the risk of major competition getting greater priority . If they
step up their game and get more strategic at bundling , they certainly wouldn ’ t need , or want , to be involved in third-party discovery .”
“ Personalisation is key to discovery ,” stresses Bouchier . “ With so much choice , knowing what to watch can be overwhelming and people now rely on algorithms for recommendations as much as they do their peers . True to its name , our TV platform offers a ‘ 360 ’ experience that seamlessly brings together multiple apps and content , while allowing customers to navigate them in an intuitive way . With features including personal profiles and voice search & control , the Virgin TV 360 platform has been built for discovery ,” he declares . ENGAGEMENT . “ Many viewers are prised away from traditional TV services by attractive features that streaming services offer , such as an enhanced user experience formed by improved UI and content discovery systems ,” notes Marcus Bergström , CEO , Vionlabs . “ Relevant , personalised watch recommendations are a significant swing factor that will drive consumers away from pay-TV and keep them subscribed to a service . But as consumers turn their attention to OTT alternatives , streaming providers need to stand out from the crowd , maximising engagement through unique experiences .”
“ Content discovery is often not good enough – nearly 20 per cent of viewers cancel an OTT service because they can ’ t find good content to watch . Intuitive discovery systems that solve this challenge and keep viewers on-screen will fuel subscriber growth and pull viewers away from pay-TV services . The streaming platforms that gain a deeper understanding of their content libraries by utilising machine learning engines to analyse content similarity and relevance can offer intuitive , personalised watch recommendations – enabling cleaner , relevant UI displays that offer a marked improvement in user experience compared to pay-TV .”
“ Many services with both live and ondemand services will re-think their user experience to unlock new opportunities and features , harnessing content analysis systems to better understand their libraries and curating linear-like channels that offer a better experience than pay-TV by providing more engaging , personalised playlists while retaining the ‘ sit-back ’ nature of pay-TV ,” he suggests .
“ A la carte business models will be increasingly prominent .” – Jonathan Broughton , WorkShare Consulting
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