End of the content boom? Streaming giants forced to be ‘more selective in their investments’
Streaming platforms have been forced to be more selective in their original content investment as the challenges of market saturation continue to impact the industry.
This is according to Kantar Media’s annual Trends and Predictions report, which also found that the more TV you watch, the more likely you’ll opt for ad-supported streaming services.
This is lucky for the likes of platforms like Disney+, Netflix, and Amazon, who the report found have been forced to be “more selective in their investments in original content, or to lean into established libraries”.
Kantar notes rising production costs, “coupled with intensifying competition, have forced companies to reassess their strategies”, as audiences tire of the rapid “commissioning and cancellation cycles”.
The impact of the 2023 writers and actors strikes diminished the quality and quantity of US-based material produced over the past few years.
In the second quarter of 2024, the number of US productions dropped by 40%, compared with the same period in 2022, while global output saw a 20% decline, according to research from ProdPro.
Kantar Media’s TGI shows that, on average, 43% of connected consumers across 37 global markets prioritise the type of content offered when choosing a streaming service, while 42% focus on the quantity available.
“This suggests that, even as the streaming boom wanes, the quality and diversity of content will continue to drive consumer decisions,” the report concluded.
“The ongoing shift in how audiences engage with content – from linear television to streaming, social media, and beyond – presents both an opportunity and a challenge,” noted Kantar Media’s CMO, John McCarthy.
“Success will depend on the industry’s ability to not only deliver compelling content but also to accurately measure how, when, and why people engage with it.”
Interestingly, the report uses the UK release strategy for Australian rom-com Colin From Accounts as a case study on how audience reach can be extending through a multi-platform approach.
The show was released with a ‘boxset’ strategy, basically dumping all the episodes onto the iPlayer streaming service at once, while also airing weekly on the BBC, across eight weeks. Kantar notes this mode “sustains viewership over time”.
The study found that by the eighth week, 40% of the audience has watched pre-BBC broadcast, up from just 4% in the second week.
Meanwhile, the broadcast audience slipped slightly, but the iPlayer views remained strong, with 22% of viewers reaching the season final between 8 and 28 days after air-date.
The chart above illustrates the viewing lifecycle of the comedy Colin from Accounts in the UK, showing audience engagement across live BBC broadcasts and the streaming platform iPlayer.
It demonstrates how a ‘boxset’ release strategy sustains viewership over time.
Kantar Media predicts that 2025 will see the increase of the bundling of different streaming services and hybrid revenue models integrating advertising, subscription, and e-commerce, noting “those who fail to adapt to these dynamic, consumer-centric ecosystems will struggle to thrive”.
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Nathan Jolly is the Features Editor at Mumbrella. He joined the team in July, 2023.
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