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