The TV content discovery problem

With the plethora of TV viewing options available today, keeping track of possible shows and movies to watch is a difficult task.
It’s only going to get worse as Apple, Disney and AT&T’s WarnerMedia launch subscription video-on-demand services later this year. They will join Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, HBO, CBS and many others.
A recent survey of U.S. consumers by Deloitte found high frustration with the process of discovering video content across multiple platforms.
Nearly half (49%) of respondents said the sheer amount of content available makes it hard to choose what to watch.
A similar percentage (48%) said content is hard to find across multiple services.
And 43% of consumers give up on the search for content if they can’t find it in a few minutes.
Also, just because you find a show or movie to add to your watch queue, doesn’t mean it will stay there.
Some 57% of consumers said they are frustrated when content disappears from their streaming libraries, the Deloitte survey showed.
I keep close tabs on new TV shows and movies through online media. I read Entertainment Weekly, follow reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, and get news from other pop-culture sources online.
“In a world of seemingly infinite choice, content discovery becomes an increasing challenge,” investment bank Morgan Stanley said in a report April 22.
A consumer survey by Morgan Stanley found that the most common way people discover new content is by “word of mouth.” Some 55% of consumers learn about new shows to watch via word of mouth.
Video trailers came in second for content discovery at 50%, followed by social media, recommendation engines and paid advertising, each with 20%.
“This highlights the opportunity for aggregators/curators to extract value from the ecosystem,” Morgan Stanley said.
The lack of organization in online video is a big pain point for a video fan such as myself.
Some services have emerged to try to solve the problem, allowing users to search for titles across streaming video services. My favorite is JustWatch. It has the most accurate listings and best user interface. (Other services include Can I Stream It?, InstantWatcher and Reelgood.) Even Google is trying to set up its game in this area.
In the past, I’d add movies to my Netflix DVD queue and set up my DVR to record series on cable and broadcast.
But lately an increasing number of movies aren’t being released on disc. And interesting new series are popping up on streaming video services to which I may or may not subscribe.
For movies and TV series not available Netflix DVDs or on my streaming services, I keep a file for those programs in my web browser bookmarks. It’s not ideal, but it works.

Photo: Reelgood

TV viewers to test ‘subscription fatigue’ theory this fall

The recent announcements by Apple and Walt Disney that they will be launching subscription video-on-demand services this fall have media pundits wondering if consumers soon will experience “subscription fatigue.”
Consulting firm Deloitte says 55% of U.S. households now subscribe to paid streaming video services, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu. And 43% of U.S. households subscribe to both streaming and traditional pay TV services.
The average U.S. streaming video household subscribes to three such services.
“With more than 300 over-the-top video options in the U.S., coupled with multiple subscriptions and payments to track and justify, consumers may be entering a time of ‘subscription fatigue,’” Kevin Westcott, leader of Deloitte’s U.S. telecom, media and entertainment segment, said in a news release March 19.
Consumers are growing frustrated by the explosion of video entertainment options.
Nearly half (47%) of U.S. consumers surveyed by Deloitte said they are frustrated by the growing number of subscriptions and services required to watch what they want.
I don’t think the number of subscription services is necessarily a problem. The new streaming video services make it easy to start and stop subscriptions. That will create a lot of subscriber churn among the lesser players in the market.
Many subscribers will sign up for a service to watch a new season of a hit show, binge watch it and then cancel the service. They can then move on to another service.
Ultimately there will be a shakeout in the market and consumers will pick a handful of winning services that they will subscribe to month in and month out.
The bigger problem for consumers is just the explosion of content among all of the new and existing channels.
The number of scripted original TV series in production hit a record 495 last year, the Los Angeles Times and Business Insider reported.
The average consumer can’t keep up with the avalanche of video programming choices. I know I can’t.
For instance, I didn’t finish the last seasons of “Marvel’s Iron Fist” and “Marvel’s Daredevil” until months after they were canceled already by Netflix. I've got over two dozen shows on my watch list that I haven't started yet. Some of those I likely will never watch.
Plus, there are shows of interest on other services. For example, I’d like to watch the second season of “Star Trek: Discovery” on CBS All Access and “Future Man” on Hulu, but I’m already way behind on watching shows on Netflix, HBO and Amazon.
What's a modern TV viewer to do?

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Post-apocalyptic movies find a home on Netflix

The number of post-apocalyptic themed movies in theaters has slowed and Netflix is picking up the slack.
So far this year, no English-language post-apocalyptic movies have opened in theaters. But two have premiered on Netflix: “Io” and “The Silence.”
Netflix also acquired the streaming rights to China’s hit post-apocalyptic movie “The Wandering Earth.” Plus, Netflix picked up the streaming rights to the upcoming Australian thriller “I Am Mother” starring Hilary Swank.
Last year, Netflix premiered four original post-apocalyptic movies on its service: “Bird Box,” “Cargo,” “Extinction” and “How It Ends.” Presumably the genre is a reliable viewership draw.
Meanwhile, the end-of-the-world genre isn’t getting any major theatrical releases until “Zombieland: Double Tap” on Oct. 11.

Photos: Promotional posters “The Silence” and “Bird Box.”

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‘Black Summer’ adds new blood to post-apocalyptic TV genre

The number of television shows set in post-apocalyptic times will dip to seven after AMC’s “Into the Badlands” airs its series finale on May 6.
And one of those remaining seven, Fox’s “The Passage,” has yet to be renewed or cancelled. A decision on whether that vampire apocalypse show gets a second season will occur by mid-May, TVLine reported.
The latest post-apocalyptic themed series to air is “Black Summer,” which premiered on April 11 on Netflix. The zombie apocalypse series is reportedly set in the “Z Nation” universe of fast-moving zombies.
“Black Summer” is Netflix’s second post-apocalyptic TV show after the Danish drama “The Rain,” which returns for a sophomore season on May 17.
Other series in the genre currently airing include “The Walking Dead” (AMC), “Fear the Walking Dead” (AMC), “The 100” (CW) and “Van Helsing” (Syfy).
But more end-of-the-world entertainment is on the way.
Netflix has four additional PA shows in the works: “Daybreak,” “V-Wars,” “The Last Kids on Earth” and a series based on the “Resident Evil” video games.
Other such shows in development include “Y” on FX, “Snowpiercer” on TNT, and “See” on Apple TV Plus. AMC also is developing a second spinoff series from “The Walking Dead,” set to air next year.

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Photos: Scenes from “Black Summer” on Netflix (Netflix)