How Connected TV Can/Should Enable Content Discovery

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Viewers take almost six minutes on average to select a piece of content to watch after turning on the TV, according to new research.

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The results show that, even when viewers do know what they want to watch, 40% are still confused about where to find it because of the number of different streaming TV options available.

The new findings are from LG Ad Solutions, based on a survey of more than 750 US consumers in March 2023, seeking to determine consumer perceptions and behavior related to CTV.

Being a CTV ad sales company, LG Ad Solutions turns this into an opportunity. With an average 5.7 minutes spent between turning on the TV and watching content this represents a chance for service providers to advertise new programming in a contextually relevant environment, the company says.

Tony Marlow, CMO of LG Ad Solutions, commented, “Our data indicates that 39% of viewers have used recommendations from their TV’s homepage when they’re looking for something new to watch — and we anticipate that number to increase as Smart TV adoption continues to climb. The home screen is the new center of the CTV experience where consumers can search for specific content, and find recommendations when they aren’t sure what they want to watch.”

Being a CTV solutions company, the report naturally underlines the drift from linear TV and subscription streamers towards free and ad-supported on-demand content.

Per the survey, a fifth of viewers say they are watching less linear cable and satellite TV than 12 months ago. The reasons being: exclusive content only available on streaming; ability to watch major network shows on demand; alternative free ad-supported channels with curated content focused on specific genres; and major sports events like the Super Bowl and March Madness now available via streaming.

With 46% of respondents (extrapolated to approximately half of the US TV viewing audience) reporting they had cancelled a streaming service citing economic concerns, more and more are turning to free streaming services.

What’s more those free services are overwhelmingly likely to be watched on the main Connected TV. LG states that 93% of US internet users are reachable by CTV. “Any advertising plan that doesn’t include CTV is missing out on valuable opportunities to connect with consumers,” it says.

After rapid adoption of streaming content on CTV, fueled in-part by stay-at-home guidance at the onset of the pandemic, a second “big shift” is now underway.

“Consumers are drifting away from some of their CTV subscriptions and increasingly preferring free content that is supported by ads,” Marlow said.

The survey reinforces several trends from other recent studies. This includes SVOD starting to offer free and reduced subscription options as a way to entice viewers to stay on the platform and viewer confusion about where to find content given the multiplicity of choice (nearly half of US TV viewers feel overwhelmed by the amount of content choices available to them). The survey repeats the suggestion that viewers share a stronger affinity towards specific content rather than the streaming platform itself.