Streaming TV is Having a Crisis of Scale

The global reach of OTT/FAST means that those platforms are fighting a continuous battle to bring new and successful content into more and more markets.

Building a successful content library involves much more than ensuring those titles have appropriate age ratings and content restrictions. The content also has to be good.

But the companies that provide content worldwide through over-the-top (OTT) or free ad-supported television services (FAST) are struggling to release enough popular content to grow their services.

This creates a cyclical challenge. Waning subscriber growth does not provide the financial resources to develop new content, and the lack of fresh/innovative content only accelerates subscriber loss.

Chicken, meet the egg

A recent Washington Post article states, "Streaming television is going through an existential crisis, involving the people who make it and the viewers who watch it. Its revolutionary zeal has naturally faded, as that initial wave of near limitless expansion, boundless creative opportunities and vast archival choices crashes ashore, after a spate of megamergers and a drop in new subscribers."

Yes, it's true. The hyper-growth of OTT and FAST streaming services is beginning to experience a rapid slowdown. What was once innovative content is now considered standard fare. 

This fickle nature of global content consumption has caused streaming services' return on investment to hit a plateau due to the challenges of breaking into new markets. Thus causing stagnation of content as the production forces see budgets pulled. This content stagnation is leaving audiences who have not yet subscribed to a service hesitant to make the subscription commitment. 

Solving global distribution challenges is daunting for the largest streaming platforms, let alone the small producers. Ensuring that your content resonates with international viewers is a challenge that must be prioritized for the showrunners and various creatives coming up with the next big streaming blockbuster. 

Streaming platforms have had huge successes with sensations such as "Squid Games," but the content that resonates globally is rare; this is especially true for comedies.

One of the most significant issues for comedic content is the reliance on nuance. Nuance is challenging to translate as well as localize. It can also be difficult for local content reviewers to place appropriate content restrictions and age ratings accurately. An artificial intelligence-based content analysis tool can help creators identify any challenges with their content before it is released. 

While major studios are slashing content development budgets, smaller producers still seek to create and find an audience. Avoiding the formulaic traps that led to the prevalence of medical dramas on broadcast television can be the solution. 

Speak softly and tell a good story

The timing of this plateau of audience growth is less than optimal. Earlier this Summer, it was reported that streaming finally drew more viewers than cable and broadcast TV. But despite the overall growth of streaming, the writing was on the wall for the future of new content. We saw the rumors earlier this year, and it still all comes down to knowing your audience, the markets in which you want to release, and how to tell a good story. 

Recognizing that different cultures view topics through distinctive lenses is crucial to bringing a concept to life. Whether it be intense themes such as suicide or drugs; or if it is light-hearted topics such as potty training or first dates, not all markets will interpret humor or drama through the same lens. We recently shared five tips for how creatives can keep their vision intact while avoiding content restrictions in global markets.

Running your content through a system that utilizes human-in-the-loop machine learning will provide you with crucial insight into the subtle distinctions of your content. It should be mandatory to bring new shows and movies to market. 

By having insight into the potential sensitivities of a show or movie, streaming services can ensure their titles are on the path to success. Services such as Spherexratings™ and Spherexgreenlight™ are market-proven technologies that have helped some of the world's most prominent content creators and distributors with millions of titles reach new markets more quickly. 

This skill of bringing quality, globally informed content to market is one of the critical ways streaming platforms can overcome the audience growth plateaus they are experiencing. 

And if you are ready to bring your title to a new audience, contact us, and we will ensure your vision comes to life anywhere it gets watched.