Nielsen: Consumers Continue to Struggle with Discovery

Amid an abundance of on-demand content, viewers are spending 10.5 minutes per session deciding what to watch, according to Nielsen’s 2023 State of Play report.

Utilizing data from its Gracenote content solutions business unit, Nielsen’s latest report found that as of June of this year, viewers in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Mexico and Germany had access to a whopping 2.7 million titles—up from 1.9 million in July 2021. Almost 87 percent of those titles were available on streaming platforms. The industry is pivoting somewhat from the emphasis on exclusivity, Nielsen reports, with many titles now available on multiple platforms.

Audiences can now access almost 40,000 individual FAST channels, streaming providers and aggregators, Nielsen said, leading to confusion for audiences. When consumers could not find something compelling to watch, one in five abandoned the viewing session and turned to another activity.

For all members of the ecosystem, a key focus needs to be on increased personalization and improving the user experience. The use of content metadata and connected IDs to deliver relevant programming and advertising options will give platforms a competitive edge, Nielsen said.

“As it was during the age of broadcast television, content is the lifeblood of the digital, streaming-first media ecosystem,” said Filiz Bahmanpour, VP of product at Gracenote. “So a clear understanding of content—where it’s available, what it’s about and whom it’s attracting—is more critical than ever.”