NEW YORK—Just over half of U.S. viewers are frustrated over their ability to be able to find content to watch on TV according to Comcast.
In its report titled, “Content Discovery in a Multiscreen TV World: Surfing and Scrolling in a Sea of Content,” Comcast analyzed trends of how consumers navigate and discover TV content across traditional and streaming in the U.S. and Europe. Based on a survey of 2,500 consumers 18 and over in the U.S., U.K., and Europe, only 25% of respondents said they could access all of their content in one place.
Nearly two-thirds of the viewers said they spend more than 6 minutes searching for something to watch, with 51% stating that the difficulty in finding new content can get frustrating.
“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 results are of particular importance to Comcast, which partnered with Charter to launched its Xumo streaming platform in 2022, including a “What to Watch” channel.
“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.”
The report also indicated that social media is an important component to helping viewers choose, with 55% of U.S. viewers saying they receive recommendations from friends, family, and colleagues. The vast majority—94%—of U.S. viewers said they choose programming based on genre.
The survey also showed promise for linear TV, perhaps invigorated by the popularity of FAST channels, with 62% of Americans saying they channel surf or scroll through a program guide or app to find what they want to watch.
With Amazon Prime and Roku now launching show previews when viewers fire up their Fire TV or Roku devices, individual platforms are increasing their importance in how viewers choose content. According to Comcast's survey, 51% of U.S. viewers have found and watched content recommended on their home screen and 85% of U.S. viewers are likely to be influenced by ads or show trailers.
To read the full report, Content Discovery in a Multiscreen TV World, click here.
