From Ars Technica · · 1m 40s
Hundreds of services, nothing to watch
Streaming fragmentation has made finding content harder, not easier, despite thousands of titles available.
In brief
Streaming fragmentation has made finding content harder, not easier, despite thousands of titles available. A Nielsen Gracenote survey found over half of streaming users struggle to find content because discovery tools are poor, not because good shows are scarce. Originally reported by Ars Technica.
The paradox of plenty
Streaming was supposed to solve the problem Bruce Springsteen sang about in the nineteen nineties: fifty-seven channels and nothing on. Instead, hundreds of services exist today and viewers still struggle to find something to watch.
“"Fifty-seven channels, and nothin' on."”
The discovery problem
Nielsen's Gracenote surveyed three thousand video streaming users in the US, Brazil, France, Germany, Mexico and the UK.Over fifty-one percent said the abundance of content and services makes it harder to find something to watch.
Users give up searching
Nineteen point two percent of respondents said they often don't know what to watch and decide to do something else instead.
Search time is climbing
Forty-seven percent of participants said they spend more time looking for something to watch than a year ago. The average time spent searching is twelve minutes.
Sports events disappear
Nearly fifty-two percent of streaming users don't know which service carries a specific sports event. Sports behind subscription paywalls are hidden from traditional search, making discovery harder.
Viewers flee to free services
Almost thirty-five percent of respondents spend more time on free ad-supported services like Tubi and The Roku Channel because subscription alternatives like Netflix and Disney+ have become overwhelming.
Viewers want TV Guide back
Seventy-two point three percent of respondents want a consolidated guide to programming across all their streaming services. Thirty-one percent say they have yet to find a good source of recommendations for their personal taste.
Here's the gist
A Nielsen Gracenote survey found over half of streaming users struggle to find content because discovery tools are poor, not because good shows are scarce.
