From Ad-Tier to Consolidation: An Update on Streaming

What began as an endeavour to simplify the search and subsequent watching of your favourite shows and movies has started to resemble the beast it sought to destroy. Streaming platforms were created to consolidate media, giving viewers a simpler, ad-free version of a traditional TV plan. And while times certainly do change, streaming seems to have taken a 180-degree spin from their original goal.??

Ad-tiers for streaming services started years ago with services like Tubi and Hulu and have integrated into larger services like Netflix, and most recently, Disney+. And while this brings immense value to advertisers in many ways, it also further segments audiences as more streaming services pop up and create this option.?

All of a sudden, much like buying channels on broadcast TV, advertisers will need to spread budget across multiple streaming services and understand the different audiences of each.??

The common complaint among users now is whether to be using streaming services at all. As the shows and movies they want to watch flip-flop around between services, it’s impossible to find the service that offers the most value. Despite the discontent growing among consumers, SVOD is still seeing gains, just not what it had been in the past. In the UK, the average household subscribes to 2.7 SVOD subscriptions, while the US is 4.5 according to Kantar’s studies.??

One of the main changes that will need to happen is consolidation, giving users less choices but ones that are more abundant. This will also help advertisers too as they will have an easier time targeting many audiences through one or two chosen platforms and using the data gained by those platforms to further understanding of their audience.??

And this is already happening, with Disney+ buying all shares of Hulu, buying out Comcasts one-third share. And with the release of their quarter earing a few weeks ago telling us they gained 7 million subscribers, with 5.2 million being on their ad-tier, this move will help them rival Netflix.??

Though consolidation will need to happen for many other smaller players before anyone can reach what Netflix is doing. With gains last quarter of 8.7 million subscribers and their announcement of 15 million subscribers this year on their ad-supported tier, the streaming giant continues to grow.??

However, while numbers may be up even as discontent over subscriptions rises, it's clear that changes are being made. The streaming landscape we have come to know is undergoing a cosmic shift and adding ad-tiers to increase profitability as well as consolidation of platforms are just a few of the first steps toward the next level of tv-watching.

Streaming platforms will look toward advertisers to fund these ventures,?attempting to take spend from traditional broadcast and digital platforms.?And with improvements no doubt coming in targeting and attribution, advertisers will have a better chance at gathering valuable consumer data through streaming and, in turn, delighting their audiences. There is still much to come from streaming and keeping up to date is an important part of understanding what media will be the most beneficial to your campaigns.?