As a result of the various questions users have asked about my previous post: “Power to streaming TV”, I bring myself to go deeply into some specific trends of the audiovisual market; particularly the fight for audience share and conquering new consumption habits in which streaming TV and linear TV networks are involved.
Today, streaming TV is battling hard for linear TV audience; according to data provided by Netflix:
- Viewers watch 10 billion hours of content per month on the platform.
- In 2015, subscribers watched 42.5 billon hours of streaming TV.
- Every month, subscribers use 45 GB of their Internet on Netflix.
- Netflix generated 450 hours of its own content in 2015; and it looks to generate 600 hours of original content in 2016.
Examples such as these greatly explain explains the need traditional TV has to consolidate short- and medium-term action plans that will help it better-adjust to the new reality. For example:
- Offer new experiences to audiences: the market is going through niche fragmentation and consolidation, where digital consumption and social media interaction become fundamental items to consolidate the social TV trend; where instead of sharing on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, there may be some leverage guiding audiences’ interests and encouraging enriching discussion throughout the virtual agora.
- Develop multi-screen based content: It is not about adapting contents to each platform, but producing formats meant to make the most of each screen and capable of seamless interactions.
- Offer a comprehensive portfolio to advertisers: allowing us to provide spaces on the different platforms. New technologies participating in the industry give us the chance to create synergies between the traditional screen and the new media for a major mix for our customers.
After carefully analyzing the situations and challenges faced by streaming TV and linear TV, the effective actions to tip the scale in favor of one or the other actor are as follows:
- Ads monetization, without making ads intrusive within the consumer’s experience.
- Knowledge of preferences, consumption habits, purchasing power, payment methods and psychology of new audiences (millennials, generation X, baby boomers, etc.).
- Content “globalization” over business restrictions.
- Alliances between TV networks and streaming services for content maximization.
The battlefield is widely known by each of the main characters in the story. Now, moves in the TV market should be chess-like: a few moves and a strategic approach to victory.