Why streaming video players need to make some housekeeping changes

A new study by Accenture emphasises the need for aggregation in online entertainment

More than nine in 10 consumers in India (95 per cent) want an all-in-one platform that simplifies their entertainment experience across streaming, fantasy sports, social media, e-commerce et al. The country is not an outlier either. In 10 of the largest consumer markets across the world, 72 per cent consumers have difficulty finding something to watch online. More than 55 per cent are overwhelmed by the choice there is and about 26 per cent spend more than 10 minutes looking for things to watch. More than three-fourths of consumers use cross-service search engines. About 35 per cent unsubscribed from at least one of the big five streaming video services in the last 12 months. And 26 per cent plan to cut one or more in the next 12 months.

Those, among others, are some of the takeaways from Reinvent for Growth, a study of 6,000 consumers of online entertainment across 10 countries including the US, Australia and India. It was conducted between October and November 2022. The sample size is rather small but the second year of the study brings forth interesting trends for anyone following online media. As the novelty of having video-on-demand wears off, what it is that is driving consumer behaviour and expectations are among the questions the study attempts to answer.

Going by Accenture’s research it looks like streaming entertainment will settle into the same kind of groove that linear TV did. The report suggests that consumers want more convenience, less decision-making. Having to re-enter their basic information to sign up for a new service is the single greatest source of frustration for consumers. About 86 per cent consumers would be interested in a single service that captured and shared all their basic information along with content preferences. Almost 37 per cent say they would pay for this. Many consumers value being able to access other services directly from their usual streaming home page — 70 per cent for music, 63 per cent for web browsing, 62 per cent for e-commerce, and 60 per cent to connect with family and friends.

The fun part is their view of advertising in a world where subscription-driven video streaming services are setting the tone for the market. The report says that almost 39 per cent consumers won’t pay to remove ads. More welcome ad-funded content with 52 per cent consumers increasing their use of completely ad-supported video in the past year.

The Indian market reflects much of this. “The shifts in consumer preferences and behaviour point towards the need for aggregation,” said Neeraj Sharma, managing director, communications, media and technology, Accenture India, in a press release on the report.

Maybe it is time to learn some lessons from TV, say analysts. When satellite TV took off in 1991, broadcasting was barely Rs 500 crore in total revenues. Today at over Rs 72,000 crore in revenue and 892 million viewers, TV is the biggest chunk of India’s Rs 161,400 crore media and entertainment business. Sure, growth came because there was very little on offer except for newspapers and films but it picked up pace because broadcasters invested in tools to aid growth.

Very early on in its evolution broadcasters had started subscribing to a rating service. There was INTAM and TAM and from 2015 onwards the Broadcast Audience Research Council. This made it easier for advertisers to figure out how, when and how much to use TV. Later, DTH players put money and technology behind electronic programme guides that took you across broadcasters, channels and shows in one shot. They invested in call centres that could guide you on channels, packages or tackle your problems as a subscriber. That brought some method to a market with more than 800 TV channels.

Going by the Accenture study, that kind of industry-wide co-operation is what online entertainment needs right now. Unlike TV, there are no single third-party metrics on online viewing that everybody agrees on and that comes without caveats attached. The lack of good metrics means ad rates that digital commands are less than half of regular broadcast TV.

On the distribution front, telcos such as Airtel and Jio offer OTT bundles but there is no support system from the OTTs for servicing subscribers. For instance, if you forget to renew your subscription, you will probably discover it when, say, the premium part of SonyLIV is not viewable. At most you will get an e-mail reminder.

According to Comscore data India has 485 million online media consumers, almost all of whom watch streaming video. Media Partners Asia reckons there are 120 million subscribers. Put together, the free, ad-funded and pay OTTs and market is a healthy Rs 17,000 crore, five years after the boom began in earnest. This report is a signal for streaming video players to make some housekeeping changes.

India In Focus

In the last 12 months, 41 per cent Indians unsubscribed from at least one of five streaming video-on-demand services 

42 per cent said that they plan to cut one or more in the next 12 months

62 per cent reported frustration at not finding something to watch

77 per cent are overwhelmed by the number of streaming services to choose from

30 per cent say it takes more than 10 minutes to settle on a streaming choice (up from 17 per cent in 2021)

Source: Reinvent for Growth, Accenture