Report finds over half of U.S. viewers cited that difficulty finding new content can be frustrating, leading them to rewatch something they’ve already seen

Comcast Advertising released a report titled, Content Discovery in a Multiscreen TV World: Surfing and Scrolling in a Sea of Content. This new global report analyzes trends of how consumers navigate and discover TV content across traditional and streaming in the U.S. and EUR. The findings come at a pivotal point for the industry as audiences are searching across multiple apps and services, with only 25% of viewers surveyed stating that all their content can be accessed in one place. Its custom insights and actionable considerations are designed to help platforms and content owners strengthen their offerings and enhance the consumer experience.

According to the report, nearly 2 in 3 U.S. viewers are spending more than 6 minutes searching for something to watch – with 51% stating that the difficulty in finding new content can get frustrating.

“In today’s unbundled world of TV, consumers face a lot of challenges when it comes to discovering content. The goal of TV, whether traditional or streaming, has always been to make audiences feel entertained, not frustrated or overwhelmed,” said Travis Flood, Executive Director of Insights, Comcast Advertising. “This research provides actionable insights into the process so that content owners and streaming platforms can improve their offerings to enhance the content discovery experience and provide more value to their viewers.”

Other insights include:

• Social circles play a big role in how viewers learn about new content: 55% of U.S. viewers said they receive recommendations from friends, family, and colleagues.
• Viewers’ choices are impacted by situational factors, but genre is foundational: 94% of U.S. viewers said that genre is a key factor in choosing what to watch.
• Channel surfing is still alive: 62% of Americans start their content search by channel surfing or scrolling through a program guide or app.
• Individual platforms play an important role in how viewers choose content: 51% of U.S. viewers have found and watched content recommended on their home screen, highlighting how essential it is for content owners and advertisers to tap into this feature.
• Promos and native ads boost content consideration: 85% of U.S. viewers are likely to be influenced to watch provider recommended content if they had seen an ad or trailer previously.

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The research is based on a survey of 2500 consumers over age 18 in the U.S., U.K., and EUR and the results were then analyzed to provide insights into viewer satisfaction, viewer decision-making, and the role recommendations and promotion plays in it all.

For its part, Comcast has recently demonstrated a strong commitment to improving the content discovery process. Comcast’s Entertainment OS, the future of entertainment for Comcast and its partners, like Xumo, makes it simple and easy for customers to find and watch their favorite programming across streaming apps, live channels, on demand programming, and more via voice search and an aggregated user experience.

“With so much great TV dispersed across an unprecedented number of connected platforms and services, watching TV has become burdensome for consumers,” said Marcien Jenckes, President, Xumo and Managing Director, Comcast Advertising. “Xumo’s goal is to remove this burden and make TV simple again. Our devices run on Comcast’s Entertainment OS, which makes watching TV easy through features like AI and human-driven show recommendations, FAST channel integration in our grid guide experience, and an unparalleled voice search capability.”

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