Driving SVOD Growth: How Live Interactive Content Attracts and Retains Subscribers
A recent New York Times article titled Americans’ New TV Habit: Subscribe. Watch. Cancel. Repeat highlights the challenges for popular streaming platforms (SVOD providers). Many users subscribe, watch their favorite show and then cancel the service only to register again when a new series is released. As the article notes:
‘Less loyal subscribers could introduce a whole new level of complexity to their business.’
Several platforms are trying to reduce this behavior by providing discounted long-term plans or bundling services into a single offering. But this strategy is more about locking viewers in than solving the underlying challenges.
Recent research shows that when it comes to reducing churn and attracting new subscribers premium SVOD platforms face five key challenges that impact their growth and financial performance:
1. Reaching Younger Audiences
SVOD providers face greater competition for younger audiences who have grown up with smartphones, social media, and video games.
2. Improving Content Recommendation
72% of viewers experience frustration finding content to watch, with some spending up to 10.5 minutes per session making a choice.
3. Content Discovery
54% of US consumers often watch shows or movies on SVOD services after hearing about them on social media.
4. Subscriber Churn
47% is the estimated average annualized subscriber churn rate for streaming video services, according to Parks Associates.
5. Series Extensions
46% of viewers turn to social media content after finishing a show or movie to find like-minded fans, understand the show better, or discover new plot lines.
The Benefits of Live & Interactive Formats
Ex Machina can help address these challenges and activate audiences across content types including game shows, (live) sports, special events and commerce. Based on our years of experience we see that engaged viewers watch more content and are less likely to unsubscribe. Introducing recurring live & interactive content creates opportunities to improve user engagement, increase viewer loyalty and reduce churn.
There are three key benefits of live & interactive formats for premium SVOD platforms:
1. Creating Recurring Tune-In Moments
The success of platforms like TikTok and Twitch shows the appeal of recurring and engaging live updates.
Introducing a regular interactive show to enhance engagement on your SVOD can generate similar viewer loyalty.
2. Closing the Gap Between Season
Recurring live shows keep excitement brewing between seasons by revisiting past highlights and teasing future releases.
Engaging fans with discussions and theories keeps subscribers sticking around, increasing loyalty.
3. Driving Content Discovery
Recurring live shows can drive discoverability by highlighting content, new trailers, and introducing creators and talent.
Users can directly ‘favorite’ this content during the show so it’s available in their watchlist when they open the app.
Introducing recurring live & interactive content creates opportunities to improve user engagement, increase viewer loyalty and reduce churn.
Developing Live and Interactive Formats for SVOD
There are several opportunities to develop live and interactive formats that can drive these SVOD platforms. From game shows, audience participation to sports predictions. Below are several examples for interactive formats for SVOD.
Interactive SVOD Format: Live Interactive Game Show
A live play-along game show boosts viewer engagement, content discovery, and platform loyalty, while attracting new subscribers.
- Develop live and interactive game shows hosted by a charismatic celebrity, focusing on pop culture and the SVOD platform’s current and upcoming shows.
- Viewers can answer questions directly in the app and earn rewards, from points to loyalty badges, enhancing the live viewing experience.
- It’s an engaging way for viewers to discover new content, enrich their watchlist, and create shareable moments.
- Open the live show to new users without subscriptions to introduce the platform, your content and upsell subscriptions.
Interactive SVOD Format: Audience Participation
Empower viewers to shape content and outcomes, creating a more interactive and personalized viewing experience.
- Integrate audience participation in talk shows, talent shows and award shows. Involve viewers by allowing them to vote on the next topic, submit questions for live Q&A or use audience opinion through real-time polls.
- Viewers can vote for their favorite talents and celebrities during award shows or red carpet events or select the man of the match during sports events.
- Or involve viewers during talent shows by providing their real-time feedback on performances, answering trivia and earning points.
Interactive SVOD Format: Shoppable Experiences
Seamlessly blend viewing and instant shopping moments with interactive overlays.
- Enable users to shop directly from the app without leaving the broadcast.
- Highlight products during a lifestyle show or display the products that are used in series. Work together with local commerce partners to create bespoke formats around cooking, interior design or gardening.
- Or host live shopping events tied to popular shows or movie premieres, where viewers can participate in real-time product launches and exclusive offers.
- The overlay can offer direct fulfillment options or collect the product favorites into a single interface, allowing the viewer to complete their purchases and receive additional recommendations after the broadcast.
Interactive SVOD Format: Live Sports Predictions
Data insights, predictions, fantasy sports, and viewer participation turns sports into a shared viewing experience.
- Live sports provide a unique opportunity to offer real-time engagement combined with game data and insights.
- Engagement can come from play-by-play predictions based on the real-time events in the match or show data insights as interactive overlays allowing viewers to get additional information about the players, teams and the game.
- Another opportunity is real-time fantasy sports during which viewers can compete by creating the best team in real-time. Scores and leaderboards are updated in real-time, allowing viewers to compete with each other.
- Or involve the viewers by allowing them to submit questions to the hosts and vote for their man of the match or MVP.
Want to learn more? Reach out to me directly, visit our website, or send an email to info@exmachinagroup.com to get the conversation going!
