In today’s highly competitive streaming market, streaming services not only have to figure out how to attract users, they also have to find ways to keep them. Fandom’s “State of Streaming in 2022” report may offer some new insights on this front. The report examines fan behavior to uncover key findings such as the reason behind churn, how streaming services can increase retention, and ways to increase subscriber loyalty by differentiating yourself from the competition.
This review was conducted by Fandom, a home for communities of fans of mobile entertainment for TV, gaming, and more. The company combined its considerable user data with a custom global study. Fandom has more than 300 million monthly visitors and more than 250,000 fan-powered wikis.
According to the recent study, 62% of viewers say that gender is the key differentiator, with Disney+ leading in this area. Additionally, 73% of viewers value streaming services much more if they have movies and shows they can’t find anywhere else.
Image credits: fandom
Nineteen percent of consumers do not have a strong loyalty to one streaming service over the other, as viewer behavior is primarily driven by content, not provider loyalty. This finding indicates that customer retention can live or die based on where they find their next favorite show. (Ask Netflix about this challenge!) And as the market expands ever more with offerings that barely differ from one another, it’s no wonder consumers are frustrated by over-saturation.
Another key retention factor is having a large library, according to 76% of subscribers. Fifty-five percent of users want original shows and movies.
According to Reelgood, while Amazon’s catalog is the largest, with 2,161 TV shows and 14,670 movies, it has the fewest exclusives of the major streaming services, at just 38%. Netflix, for its part, is in second place, with 83% of its catalog being exclusive to the platform. Disney+ has the most exclusive content. 89% of its content cannot be streamed anywhere else.
Disney+ has its established reputation of properties from Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars, National Geographic, and Disney, while other major streaming services like Apple TV+, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video aren’t yet riddled with superhero-sized franchises or universes.
Super fans and IP universes
Subscribers also want more than just a single show to stay tuned. The IP Universes are intellectual property that can easily lead to sequels, prequels, and spin-offs. Paramount’s Sheridan universe, for example, is releasing two more “Yellowstone” spinoffs called “6666” and “1932.” Fandom notes that “Yellowstone” was among their most popular communities.
Consumers no longer just watch their favorite shows and move on to the next one. In a world of binge eating and social media, casual fan behavior has turned into super fan behavior. Forty-six percent of dedicated fans seek out community and culture around their entertainment interests, and 60% immerse themselves in fictional universes online.
There are tons of online communities dedicated to fictional universes. In particular, Fandom users ranked “Star Wars,” Disney, “Harry Potter” and Marvel in the top four and viewed them as franchises that “encourage constant fan exploration outside of launches,” according to the report.
Image credits: Disney
Most of Disney’s most popular originals come from the Marvel and “Star Wars” universes, with shows like “The Mandalorian,” “The Book of Boba Fett,” “Loki,” “WandaVision,” “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”. ” and “Hawk Eye”. The success of “The Mandalorian”, driven mainly by Grogu’s cuteness, became one of the most demanded series in the world. On December 1, 2021, Parrot Analytics stated that “The Mandalorian” was in demand 31.9 times higher than the average title globally.
Fandom user data shows that Disney+ is worth 30% more than the average video streaming service. Disney’s huge umbrella of universes and characters has resulted in a fanfiction community like no other. Disney adults could take over the Internet for themselves. Okay, not really. But it’s fun to think about all those Mickey hats.
In addition, the Disney fan fiction community grew by 45% during the launch of “Encanto”, with the Encanto FanFiction page ranked as the number one trending page during the week of its streaming launch. The soundtrack, in particular, was a hit everywhere, especially on TikTok, and if you didn’t have “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” stuck in your head for a week, then you’re one of the lucky ones. . The popular song, written and composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, became the first Disney song to top the UK Singles Chart. It is also Billboard’s highest-charting Disney song, peaking at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Meanwhile, Netflix is desperately trying to find a new IP. Last year, the company acquired the Roald Dahl Story Company in hopes of creating “a unique universe through live-action and animated film and TV, publishing, games, immersive experiences, live theater, consumer products and more.” Netflix wrote on its blog.
Amazon is also focused on IPs with universal potential. The company has invested heavily in “The Lord of the Rings” and its ownership of the “James Bond” franchise through its $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM.
Karol Severin, co-founder and entertainment/tech analyst at research company MIDiA, said:
“It’s easier for competitors to commission ‘something like’ a single movie or TV show than it is to replicate the depth of an IP universe. For these reasons, we believe that IP universes will continue to play an increasingly important role.“
Streaming services have an opportunity to reduce churn and potentially “win” streaming wars by driving loyalty and creating a complete fan experience with unique content and franchises. So streaming services need to ramp up titles that lend themselves to additional storytelling, rather than standalone stories that just work as standalone movies or series.