Streaming Opening Doors to More Engaging Viewing Experiences, Says Parks

Streaming services have opened the door to more engaging and immersive experiences, said Parks Associates contributing analyst Eric Sorensen on a Thursday webinar. He cited opportunities in sports wagering, interactive shopping, co-viewing, dynamic and personalized ads and direct-to-consumer (D2C) video services from influencers and creators to create a more immersive experience for their fans.

Co-viewing streaming experiences rose during the COVID-19 pandemic as a way for people to remain connected, Sorensen noted, as some content providers promoted the idea of enjoying a movie or event with friends and family in another location. Most consumers who engaged in social viewing used traditional methods such as phone calls or video chat apps, said a Parks survey, but one in five used a co-viewing app; 25% said they would be very likely to try co-viewing if offered by one of their video services.

Sorensen described social viewing as a “lean-in” experience vs. the traditional lean-back style of TV viewing and said it’s most prevalent in households with children. Apple TV+ is the service used most (45%) by consumers in social viewing, said the survey. He cited Scener and Teleparty as two popular co-viewing tools offering consumers dedicated co-viewing experiences.

Sports viewers also show high engagement in social viewing (41%), led by men 18-44, Sorensen said. The live nature of sports events makes people not want to miss out on “water cooler moments with family and friends," Sorensen said. Co-viewing is also popular among Hispanic (30%) and Black viewers (28%), he said.

Though wagering is becoming more popular on streaming services within a livestreamed sports event, latency time remains a challenge for placing a bet on live action, Sorensen said. Of sports fans who would be willing to use an interactive feature, if offered, 41% said statistics would be the feature they would most likely use the most; 51% said they wouldn’t be willing to place a bet within the livestream: “This indicates that there is some skepticism of the authenticity of a wagering feature or latency of the streaming services,” Sorensen said. About 13% of respondents had placed a bet within a video stream.

An emerging trend for creators is to circumvent mainstream distribution models and create their own streaming apps from the ground up, said Sorensen, citing KevOnStage from comedian Kevin Fredericks, who claims a following of 3 million fans. Fredericks' niche streaming service is on streaming services including Roku and Amazon Fire TV and via web, iOS and Android platforms, he said.

Such D2C offerings include personalized in-stream promotions, merchandise and exclusive offers, Sorensen said. “Because of the dedicated social audience and like-minded viewers of the content, dynamic product placement creates a more personalized and immersive experience for those direct-to-consumer services,” he said. The appeal for artists is twofold: revenue potential and retaining content ownership rights, he said. Artists like Fredericks can continue to monetize their popularity “and bring audiences gained on social media to video-sharing platforms through their streaming apps.”

Artists with D2C channels could potentially see higher subscriber retention and lower churn “as customers are less likely to abandon the service with which they have a strong brand loyalty,” Sorensen said. He predicted niche services will likely establish themselves as a "coexisting presence in the market over the next few years.”