Stephanie Prange

March 31, 2022

Consumers are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of content from streaming video providers and increasingly frustrated with the efforts needed to access it, according to new research by Interpret.

Among subscribers to streaming services, one-third express an interest in being able to manage and search for their available content from one place, according to Interpret’s study, “The Future of OTT Aggregation.” Consumers want aggregation services to help remove pain points from the subscription process. They also expect bundled offerings to deliver greater value, as well as to improve account management, discovery and content recommendation functionality, according to the study.

The study found that U.S. viewers subscribe to an average of four to five SVOD services, and the majority also access multiple ad-supported or ad-funded on-demand services. More than 20% of U.S. consumers agree that they “subscribe to too many video streaming services.”

Among other findings:

• Consumers expect financial value from any bundled offerings, but also derive increasing personal value from offerings that eliminate pain points in the subscription (and cancellation) process.
• Most aggregation providers are focused on front-end content interfaces and discovery tools, but there is potential to offer significant differentiation through portfolio and payment management tools.
• Content providers are hampering progress in aggregation because they are fighting to retain control over their own parts of the content journey (and related data collection and advertising opportunities).

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“Addressing fragmentation will be tricky since there are so many service options, each with its own priorities relative to revenues, data, and audience. Yet, the companies that solve the aggregation puzzle have much to gain,” Brett Sappington, VP at Interpret, said in a statement. “Successful aggregation of content and services will produce an improved, sticky customer experience and will drive subscription and ad revenue opportunities. It will also be important to mid-sized or smaller streaming services that cannot afford to out-market global or regional streaming giants.”

“The Future of OTT Aggregation” is based on industry research, interviews with market leaders and innovators, and online survey data of 9,000 U.S. consumers.