If you’ve happen to come across all of the new TV platforms choices – from your good ole fashioned MVPDs to vMVPDs, OTTs and streaming services – consumers (and frankly myself after listing them out) feel a need for simplicity, discoverability, and streamlined experience for pay TV services.

The proliferation of TV services and content has exploded the last few years. First it was Netflix and then Hulu and Amazon soon followed. Now SVOD, broadcast, and cable networks are launching their own standalone OTT offerings. From a business standpoint it makes sense; however at what point does the fragmentation become too much for consumers. Well it seems like the rubber may have hit the road.

A recent PwC study cites that almost 90% of consumers are unsatisfied with content discovery and recommendations. Of those surveyed, 50% would ditch a provider if the service was too much (i.e. content overload or confusing as hell to find said content).

The research also found 51% of consumers prefer to pay one monthly fee for all of their video content. Not sure how that would work in today’s ecosystem, but worth nothing nonetheless. And another insight was that 50% want all of their video content to be available in one place. Ok, have you jotted all of that down?

To dig deeper, PwC donned a subset of these folks as “engagers” – consumers who engage with content in a deliberate manner. It’s these engagers who rely on reviews and human recommendations more and more, with about 44% reading professional reviews.

All of the above research is why VuPulse built our platform the way that we did. Having all worked in cable, media, and tech, we saw that consumers we not only having a harder time finding content while on one of their services but also getting to their service from an ad or social post. By taking consumers from an ad click to where they watch content in one click, we’re solving for many of the concerns that PwC uncovered. And we’re proud of that.

While none of the findings are earth shattering, the percentages are quite high. Has the pendulum swung too far from a monopolistic industry to one that’s so splintered that consolidation and acquisitions are inevitable? The jury is still out on that, but one thing’s for sure – these MVPDs, OTTs, and streaming services will need to put their margins aside and figure out how to make the consumers happy again; otherwise these services will be harder to find than the content.

To learn how VuPulse can make your customers happier, just reach out.