Streaming Addiction: New SVOD entrants are all making a critical strategic mistake

Two articles on the state of the industry caught my attention this week:

A brilliant analysis of a key success factor for streamers from Lightshed Partners.
And a ho-hum Wall Street Journal story that nonetheless captures the current investment frenzy for Unscripted productions.

Nat Geo also shared an updated INCLUSION STANDARDS. Scroll down for the link.

New SVOD Entrants All Making Critical Mistake – Failing to understand streaming addiction.

Streaming addiction drives a successful subscription VOD model.
And that means a big, fat pipeline of programs that successfully recommends ‘programs like…‘ and that keeps viewers watching.

“Legacy media’s streaming offerings are all decent offerings product and tech-wise, but none are focused on driving addiction. Tech companies are using content and programming to capture even more time spent per day and driving addiction to their platforms. Whereas legacy media companies are all now trying to become tech companies. But they are failing to recognize the most important element of “winning” tech companies, which is controlling as much time spent per user per day as possible.”

Read the full analysis here : Streamers: The Addiction Model (Lightshed Partners 060821) pdf

The Documentary & Reality Boom

The WSJ checks into the zeitgeist and discovers the intense viewing of unscripted programs that are far less costly than scripted shows.

“From Prince Harry to the Kardashians, Real Stories Are Hollywood’s Rising Stars.
WarnerMedia-Discovery merger among many high-profile moves bolstering streaming services’ offerings of reality TV and documentaries”

“Unscripted shows and documentary projects tend to be cheaper to make than their scripted counterparts, offering the potential for bigger profits if they become popular. According to market-research company Reelgood, the cumulative number of reality TV shows offered on streaming services nearly doubled in the first quarter of this year when compared with 2020.”

Read the full article here : Unscripted Boom (Wall Street Journal 060121)