Viewers may already know what they want to watch before they open your TV app. New research from FX Digital and Craft explores how content discovery differs across generations.
FX Digital Co-Founder and CEO Matthew Duhig recently joined Marion Ranchet, Founder of Streaming Made Easy, and Konrad Collao, Founder of Craft, to discuss how different generations discover, choose and watch television.
The conversation draws on the second year of research from FX Digital and Craft, this time involving 1,200 UK viewers, alongside Craft’s experience observing viewing behaviour inside people’s homes.
This research will also form part of our upcoming presentation at SME Live in Amsterdam on 10 September. Read more about the event and what we have planned here.
One finding from the research in particular stands out:
65% of Gen Z decide what to watch on a feed before the TV goes on. Among boomers, that figure is just 6%.
For streaming platforms, that creates an interesting design challenge: how do you build an experience that works for viewers who have already made up their minds, as well as those who haven’t?
The money is going to the wrong place
The TV app is now one part of a much wider discovery journey. TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, short-form clips and recommendations from friends can all play a role in shaping what someone wants to watch.
That challenges where streaming platforms should focus their attention.
As Matthew Duhig explains:
“There’s so much time, energy and budgets that are spent on personalisation and trying to present the right thing to the user within the television application, when in reality they might have already discovered something to watch before they even switch on their TV.”
Personalisation still has an important role to play, particularly for viewers who arrive without a clear idea of what to watch. But for those who already know what they’re looking for, the priority shifts towards frictionless search, navigation and access.
Designing for both behaviours is a challenge we regularly see in CTV: how do you support discovery without adding friction for viewers who already know what they want? It’s the kind of product problem we work with our clients to solve at FX Digital.
Personalising for one, watching with many
There’s another challenge for personalisation: television is often watched together.
Partners, families and friends compromise over what to watch, yet most streaming experiences continue to personalise around a single profile.
Understanding the person behind an account is one thing. Understanding the context of a living room, who is watching together, what mood they’re in and what they’re willing to compromise on, is much harder.
For streaming platforms, this creates an opportunity to rethink experiences designed around the individual and explore how CTV products could better reflect the reality of shared viewing.
The role of the TV is changing
At the same time, the biggest screen in the home is becoming capable of much more than traditional viewing. YouTube continues to grow its presence on TV, gaming is moving onto smart TV platforms, and new experiences are emerging around interactivity and commerce.
These shifts are expanding what audiences can do on the television and, in turn, what they expect from it.
For streaming platforms and broadcasters, that opens up new possibilities for how they engage audiences on the big screen, from more interactive formats to experiences that bring entertainment, gaming and commerce closer together.
At FX Digital, we’re excited to help clients explore these possibilities and shape the next generation of CTV experiences around how audiences are using the big screen.
See you at SME Live
Curious to learn more about what the research could tell us about the future of CTV? Join us at SME Live in Amsterdam on 10 September, where FX Digital Co-Founder Tom Smith will take to the stage to share more of the data and explore what it could mean for the industry. Learn more about the event here.
