Continued Fragmentation of the Streaming Ecosystem Causing Chaos, Frustration for Consumers6/23/2021
“As the country continues to emerge and adjust to post-pandemic life, it is evident that the growth and disruption of the streaming revolution continues at pace, according to a recent Horowitz Research survey of content viewers nationwide. The data show that streaming now supplants MVPD services in penetration and is closing in on time spent by viewers. Along with dominance comes accountability. Consumers are feeling the pain of chaos (too many streaming services) and fatigue as content is unpredictably fragmented across numerous, access-restricted streams.” Source: Horowitz Research See the research summary here.  While the world’s elite athletes are competing for medals in Rio de Janeiro, a battle for viewers is being waged by cable and broadcast networks, social media and streaming platforms. One of the key properties Comcast gained with its 2011 purchase of NBCUniversal was the rights to air the Olympics games in the US. And now Comcast, through its Xfinity cable subsidiary is leveraging new platforms and apps to engage subscribers with Olympics content. As cord-cutting increases, Comcast is looking to upgrade current subscribers as well as entice new users with exclusive Olympics content available only through their partnership with the USOC. NBCUniversal now has an exhaustive schedule of Olympics viewing across NBC, MSNBC, Telemundo, USA, Bravo and more through the X1 application. In a bid to reach cord-cutters and mobile users, Google has dispatched YouTube stars such as Liza Koshy, Brodie Smith, Ben Brown, Caeli, Chloe Morello and Felipe Castanhari to livestream parts of the games and special events in host city Rio. Google is leveraging content from these Creators into search, maps and mobile applications to increase engagement. YouTube is also offering subscribers an IOC channel to increase visibility beyond US-centric users.
Not to be left out of the mobile/streaming wars, Facebook and Instagram have partnered with NBC to create a Social Media Command Center with access to NBC commentators and behind-the-scenes video. Early reports indicate that live viewership for the Olympics is down versus the 2012 London Games. Some are faulting excessive commercial breaks and ongoing concerns about Rio’s preparedness for the games. But with so many options, are viewers choosing to engage with the 2016 Olympic Games in other ways rather than just live TV? Some thoughts for marketers:
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Cheryl A. Seraile is a Full Stack Marketing & Strategy Leader, with a passion for uncovering new trends and insights about consumers, demographics, culture and the world. Categories
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