The Impact of Hyper-Choice on Viewer Experience and Advertising Optimization in Streaming Platforms

By Virginie Dremeaux, Vice President, International Marketing and Communications, FreeWheel, A Comcast Company.

It’s an experience that every “connected” video user knows well. After the initial enthusiasm with the number of platforms and content available, very quickly the viewer can paradoxically become overwhelmed or even overwhelmed by this “hyper-choice”. This abundance also applies to the large TV screen where all types of video content (professional or UGC) and all consumption uses (live / serial, playback, delay, etc.) -now within reach of the remote control. The result of this constant flow of “new” content is that the viewer is engaged in an active and complex decision-making process every time they turn on their screens.

A Comcast Advertising study conducted at the end of 2023 in the United States and in several European countries, including France, looked at the perception and motivation of viewers who are faced with this “hyper-choice”.

The first observation of the study is very positive: 69% of French viewers are very happy with this hyper-option. The disadvantage is that the remaining 31% feel challenged by the complexity of the research process. Despite the proliferation of platforms and the proliferation of scrolling services, 29% of European viewers (but 42% in France) say they consume their videos within one offer.

Another result of this “hyper-choice” affects the user experience: 67% of viewers spend more than six minutes searching for the video content they are going to look, it’s even longer than 15 minutes for 12% of them!

In this context, we can well imagine the importance of an optimized advertising experience. Two other recently published FreeWheel studies (“The Delicate Art of Balancing Ad Load” (September 2023) and “Designing a Better Ad Pod” (January 2024)) show that even in a context where viewers clearly understand the value trade-off between access to content and free advertising, conditions exist to respect the best screens for a “prime” advertising experience. These studies also show that there are, however, conditions that should be respected in order to optimize the screens for a “prime” advertising experience. First, the number of advertisements, with an optimal screen time that should not exceed 2 minutes. The quality of the advertising experience then, both in terms of distribution and control is repeated with a cap on ads of a maximum of 2 or 3 per program. Finally, the structure of the screens: the grouping of spots according to equal times within the same screen gives brands a double advantage by increasing the impact and purchase intentions, as well as the user experience, with idea of ​​shorter ad screens.

It is often said that content is king and this is still absolutely true but in this new era of competition, streaming platforms that have opted for free or hybrid models need more than before always focus on the advertising experience and how it is best to attract and retain new viewers. .

The Head of Media was not involved in the writing of this content.