Comms and media company software and services provider Amdocs has released new research on the current state of streaming and changing consumer preferences around their experience.

The New Streamer 2024, conducted by Dynata and commissioned by Amdocs, surveyed US consumers to understand the sentiment of streaming offerings and identify opportunities for providers to build stronger brand loyalty with customers. The findings show that while most Americans are feeling the squeeze of the rising cost of entertainment subscriptions, original content, active experiences such as cloud gaming and more customised offerings can help providers improve overall customer satisfaction.

As streaming providers continue to compete for customer loyalty, 90 per cent of consumers want better control over their experience. Findings show consumers would prefer to create and pay for a package that is limited to only content they are interested in instead of paying for access to an entire library they may never fully explore. Additionally, most Americans (82 per cent) want a single portal or app where they can access all their streaming subscriptions versus searching for content across various apps.

The survey also uncovered insights into streaming’s hottest trends, ads, service costs and content. US findings include:

• Thoughts on ads? It’s complicated.
  • Overall, 38 per cent of consumers are opposed to seeing more ads, while 45 per cent are open to it. However, younger generations are much more open to seeing more ads, including Gen Z (36 per cent), Millennials I (43 per cent) and Millennials II (50 per cent).
• Contrary to popular belief, cost isn’t everything
  • The price of streaming services doesn’t impact loyalty to an entertainment provider today (25 per cent) as much as it did in 2020 (38 per cent).
  • However, consumers are expecting improved experiences with increased costs.
• New, original content is a top want from consumers, but older titles aren’t far behind
  • Consumers say original content is the most important consideration (72 per cent), with new content every few weeks (59 per cent), access to older titles (55 per cent) and being able to watch anywhere (49 per cent) also being top factors.
• More choices, more problems
  • Nearly one quarter (22 per cent) of consumers report feeling overwhelmed by the number of streaming subscriptions they have.
  • This feeling is most present amongst Gen Z (41 per cent).
• ‘Streaming’ is evolving beyond simply watching
  • Two-fifths of general consumers and 54 per cent of gamers believe that cloud gaming will become a dominant way to play games in the future.
  • Consumers would welcome new cloud gaming options; 52 per cent would be likely to try a new service beyond just current offerings from Microsoft and Apple if a brand such as Netflix were to offer it.
• More in-depth experiences require a more capable network
  • Over the past year, nearly half of consumers (49 per cent) have encountered connectivity issues while streaming movies and TV shows.
  • Although the majority of general consumers don’t frequently engage with cloud gaming services, 10 per cent of all respondents reported experiencing lag when utilising such platforms.

“Customer expectations for entertainment breadth and quality continue to grow, but needs are increasingly nuanced,” advises Anthony Goonetilleke, Group President of Technology and Head of Strategy, Amdocs. “Customers are looking for increasing control over their entertainment experience, and at the same time, ready for content innovation that next generation connectivity, coupled with AI, may enable.”