Only 21% of Europeans believe they can easily find the content they want to watch on their device.
A new report produced by Comcast Advertising, Content Discovery in a Multiscreen TV World: Surfing and Scrolling in a Sea of Content, suggests the figure rises to 28% in the United States.
For those who have to search multiple apps or services, 46% of Europeans and 51% of Americans and cited that the difficulty of finding new content can get frustrating and lead them to rewatch something.
“In today’s unbundled world of TV, consumers face a lot of challenges when it comes to discovering content. The goal of TV, whether traditional or streaming, has always been to make audiences feel entertained, not frustrated or overwhelmed,” said Travis Flood, Executive Director of Insights, Comcast Advertising. “This research provides actionable insights into the process so that content owners and streaming platforms can improve their offerings to enhance the content discovery experience and provide more value to their viewers.”
The research is based on a survey of 2,500 consumers over age 18 in the United States, UK and Europe. The results were then analyzed to provide insights into viewer satisfaction, viewer decision-making, and the role recommendations and promotion plays in it all.
65% of viewers are spending over six minutes searching for new content, with decisiveness being key to search time. More decisive viewers begin the content discovery journey with a preestablished consideration set, creating a more intentional viewing experience. European viewers tend to spend more time searching than Americans, since the majority are lean-in viewers (57% vs. 43%).
55% of Europeans and 62% of Americans channel surf or use a programme guide to look for their content. 43% (Europeans) and 34% (Americans) speak the name of a particular programme.
American viewers are 14% more likely (57% versus 50%) to find and watch provider recommended content in the corresponding app, and European viewers are 22% more likely (45% versus 37%) to find and watch content through the programme guide.
“With so much great TV dispersed across an unprecedented number of connected platforms and services, watching TV has become burdensome for consumers,” said Marcien Jenckes, President, Xumo and Managing Director, Comcast Advertising.
“Xumo’s goal is to remove this burden and make TV simple again. Our devices run on Comcast’s Entertainment OS, which makes watching TV easy through features like AI and human-driven show recommendations, FAST channel integration in our grid guide experience, and an unparalleled voice search capability.”
Comcast says that Entertainment OS, used by Sky on Sky Glass and Sky Stream and Xumo, makes it easier for customers to find and watch their favourite programming across streaming apps, live channels, on demand programming, and more via voice search and an aggregated user experience.
