Investigating confusion in the viewing landscape: Apps? Channels? Both?
Anthony Wood has established Roku as one of the most successful innovators in TV tech history. And it has been since 2009 when it spun out of Netflix. But there’s one thing about the Roku interface– which by and large I love – that has confused me since early days. What does Roku mean by Channel? Don’t they mean app? Or is it the app that’s filled with channels?
I’m not sure, but if I think back to the time when they first launched, I recall a few ideas circulating. One of them was that the TV Grid Guide was antiquated, that streaming viewership would primarily happen in an on-demand viewing mode, and that “Live TV Channels” that viewers tuned-in to, or channel surfed to, was in fact on the way out.
When FAST came onto the scene – especially by about 2020 when Vizio updated their WatchFree+ platform and Samsung TV Plus had finally achieved a good user experience – it took folks awhile to grok that people still engaged in old-school “channels” viewing. Even still today major leaders of our business say “Linear” when they mean “Legacy”. (Here’s a recent post about Disney’s latest quarterly earnings report, which references Bob Iger speaking about Linear when he is really referring to the legacy TV model, not linear streaming.)
As a fan of this user experience – especially when paired with a DVR as all Virtual MVPDs now provide – I’m still uncertain and curious about the number of viewers that primarily use these Smart TV or CTV device built-in live TV channel guide apps, notwithstanding the clear growth in FAST usage.
So, while the water here is murky, I decided to sail-in and focus my Summer 2024 #FutureOfTV.Live Survey on “Live TV Channels” whether they were delivered in a free or pay environment, whether delivered by cable, satellite or streaming, and whether watched live, on-demand, or off a DVR.
What is Live TV channel programming? I ask because - in another peculiar verbiage twist - not every streaming channel in these grids features actual “live” content. As in, what’s happening on the screen is also happening right now in real-time. But all experiences must call Channels something – and Live TV is better than Live Linear TV, I think we’d all agree.
Top two findings: Channel surfing; Be Right Back opportunity
Full, free report including top five findings is available at: #FutureOfTV.Live📺
1. Channel surfing beats grid guide: Implications for linear streamers and platforms
Viewers that watch Live TV Channel programming of any kind, via any method, when asked about the “best description” of their viewing behaviors, reported surfing across channels over using the TV grid guide for live TV programming. By a healthy margin, too.
50% of the respondents indicated that surfing across channels “best described” how they watch TV channel programming. Only 29% indicated that they use the program grid guide, which could indicate it needs improvement. (Another datapoint in the survey suggested so.)
38% selected that they tune-in at specific times, which came in at a surprising second.
The fact that channel surfing was the top answer for respondents seeking to select what best describes their viewing behavior begs a key question to channel publishers:
- Does your programming start on the hour?
- Are you sure your channel logo is clear, readable and has positive brand equity?
- What happens if a viewer tunes into an unfilled ad slot?
- Do you have working content automation that is flexible enough to ensure your gold programming metadata can be turned into in-stream videos or overlays that capture the attention of channel surfers?
All of which is a great segue to the report’s second top insight.
2. We’ll Be Right Back (BRB) slates: Lemons for tasty lemonade?
Nothing says “Change the channel!” like a boring BRB slate with a 2 minute countdown, amirite? I’m proud to roll out my first probe on this important topic.
Funny thing, Freewheel was curious about these slates as well. They released a report that found slates dampen the joy of TV. (Improving the Quality of Ad Experiences, May 29, 2024, which leverages research by Media Science.)
From the report: “Slate: While viewers are less bothered by slates (33%), their physiological response to the content indicates they experience less joy compared to a program with no slates.”
My data is a bit sharper:
Slates are far less bothersome to viewers than ad repeats and high ad loads. (Only 20% selected them as an annoying aspect of the ad experience in a multi-select.)
It’s a good thing, because my current technical view (based on years of experience in or near this domain) is that BRB slates are here to stay.
Yes, they are the bane of programmatic TV. Sure, we’re in this game to fill. And yes we can and will improve fill rates. Plenty of room for improvements, as everyone knows.
But even in the long run, I believe that programmatic TV will never get to 100% fill. Or at least not in the time span of a career.
I sympathize with annoyed channel publishers that can’t fill their inventory.
But the slate is your friend. It’s a great in-house channel branding asset to help you catch channel surfers, drive tune-in, and collect viewer feedback via QR.
High ad repeats & ad load are the enemy. Use Slates as in-house promo assets to drive a better viewer experience.
Grid guide personalization
One last insight from the report is worth a mention given its relevance for the built-in channel guides.
We asked TV consumers what their single most important suggestion is for improving the TV experience. In a single-select with six choices, 20% selected that they wanted easier navigation of the grid guide. That was the second most selected response, behind 23% that wanted greater depth and variety of content.
Personalization of the grid guide, including localization geographically as well as genre-based navigational elements will be critical to meeting this need.
Find many more insights in the report, along with data visualizations that are designed to give readers a simple and visceral understanding of the insights.
#FutureOfTV.Live📺 is a Quarterly Report, TV Survey & Zoomcast hosted by Brian Ring, Principal Analyst at Ring Digital llc. Get your copy of the full, free report here. See you at StreamTVShow in Denver!
Brian Ring is President of Ring Digital llc, the leading GTM consultancy enables high-tech video innovators to drive product-led revenue growth. Mr. Ring also publishes & hosts a quarterly research report filled with insights on the future of the TV business. Get his next report by signing up now at #FutureOfTV.Live 📺
Industry Voices are opinion columns written by outside contributors—often industry experts or analysts—who are invited to the conversation by StreamTV Insider staff. They do not represent the opinions of StreamTV Insider.