Reduce Churn: How Viewer Interactivity Can Increase Loyalty for Premium SVOD Platforms
Tackling churn and boosting viewer loyalty
In today’s competitive streaming landscape, SVOD platforms constantly strive to increase viewer loyalty and reduce churn. And while most SVOD platforms don’t share subscription data, Antenna research estimates premium SVOD churn rates at 4–10% monthly. Annually, Parks Associates estimates ‘the average annualized subscriber churn rate’ at 47%.
This doesn’t mean the customer is lost. Churn happens for various reasons, including ‘subscription fatigue’ (feeling overwhelmed by the number of subscription video services). Users may take a temporary break from a service or switch to another, intending to return. Adobe and Antenna found that 35% of those who canceled re-subscribed within 12 months.
The fragmented availability of content doesn’t help. Civic Science research found that around 53% of US users subscribe to three or fewer services, which leads to users switching between services.
Churn appears higher among younger audiences; a 2022 Deloitte study noted that “streaming video providers may face greater competition for younger audiences who have grown up with smartphones, social media, and video games.”
In this blog, we explore how premium SVOD platforms can keep subscribers loyal and engaged to reduce churn and increase viewing time based on our experience with interactive TV formats, gaming, and live streaming.
In the end, it boils down to user engagement. When viewers watch more content and engage with the platform, they’re less likely to unsubscribe.
Boosting User Engagement: Strategies for SVOD Platforms Through Live and Interactive Content
Platforms combat churn through price differentiation, ad-supported tiers, and third-party packaged deals, but these are primarily financial incentives.
In the end, it boils down to user engagement. When viewers watch more content and engage with the platform, they’re less likely to unsubscribe.
There are several key strategies for premium SVOD platforms to improve user engagement, increase platform loyalty, and reduce churn that can be achieved by introducing recurring live & interactive content.
1. Improve content discoverability on the platform.
- A 2023 Accenture study estimated that 72% of viewers experience frustration finding content to watch, with some spending up to 10.5 minutes per session making a choice.
- Recurring live shows can drive discoverability by highlighting content, show new trailers, explain the premise, and involve creators and talent. Users can directly ‘favorite’ this content during the show so it’s available the next time they open the app.
2. Drive social content.
- A Deloitte study found that 54% of US consumers often watch shows or movies on SVOD services after hearing about them on social media.
- Encourage users to share clips and moments on social media can drive viewership. Enable fans to share their favorite moments, characters and their knowledge and fandom can provide shareable content.
- This content shared by viewers during the live show, as personalized content after a quiz (You’re in the top 5% of Stranger Things fans), or as highlight clips when the broadcast has ended.
3. Bridge the gap between a user’s favorite shows and genres.
- Bridge viewers’ wait times between seasons by offering additional content like behind-the-scenes features, knowledge shows, and short-form content to maintain excitement for upcoming seasons.
- Accenture found that 46% of viewers turn to social media content after finishing a show or movie. User-generated content helps viewers find like-minded fans, understand the show better, or discover new plotlines.
- Recurring live shows offer a unique opportunity to maintain fan engagement between seasons. By reflecting on past seasons and teasing future releases, these shows can keep the audience’s excitement alive. Incorporating fan theories and discussing highlights from previous seasons can create a more engaging and relatable atmosphere.
4. Create repeating and recurring content.
- Creating repeating and recurring content is key to keeping viewers engaged regularly. For instance, ‘The Office’ was the most-streamed TV show in 2020 according to Nielsen. When comparing the traditional TV era to the SVOD landscape, there’s a notable shift in season lengths: traditional TV series often averaged around 18 episodes per season, whereas new SVOD series typically have about 10. This shift suggests a potential opportunity for SVOD platforms to explore longer, bingeable series and incorporate recurring formats like sports, news, and game shows to further drive viewer engagement.
- Frequent content updates drives engagement on TikTok, and HQ Trivia has proven that subscribers are eager to tune in daily to a platform if the content is engaging, live, and interactive.
- Hosting a daily or weekly interactive live show on your SVOD platform can drive this routine engagement and enhance viewer interaction.
5. Share short-form experiences.
- YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram demonstrate that short-form content can captivate a lot of attention. And although Netflix’s attempt to integrate a TikTok feature failed, there is still an opportunity to grab the users’ attention for a short timespan.
- Explore short-form content by creating shorts from existing content or producing original short-form content such as sketches and behind-the-scenes features.
- Short form content can be directly embedded in recurring live shows, combining both owned and fan made content to drive excitement.
6. Gamify the experience.
- Netflix famously stated that they “compete with (and lose to) ‘Fortnite’ more than HBO,” but you don’t need to build a cross-platform metaverse to provide an online social entertainment experience in a real-time 3D setting for offering a gamified experience.
- There are several ways to gamify the SVOD experience, including badges, achievements, points, leaderboards, real-time interactions, and rewards.
- A key format that combines the excitement of live shows and gaming are live game shows that allow viewers to play along. This engages users to show off their knowledge, earn points, and compete with friends and family to increase the entertainment value.
The Power of Live and Interactive Content to Drive Engagement and User Loyalty
At Ex Machina, we develop unique interactive solutions for TV broadcasters and gaming companies that drive loyalty and engagement, impacting churn and activating lapsed players. These solutions can benefit SVOD, FAST, and AVOD operators by creating a more interactive and captivating viewing experience for subscribers that drive platform loyalty.
Incorporating live and interactive formats tied to the content available on the platform is a key strategy for SVOD platforms to boost viewer engagement. Formats may feature special guests and exclusive content to increase viewership and can involve hosting trivia games about specific shows to promote content discovery. Clips from the live show and player results can be shared to promote social content around new and upcoming series.
Live & Interactive Formats
A successful live and interactive format for SVOD platforms has engaging hosts to present the format, introduces new content, includes guest appearances, involves the audience, and of course, gamifies the experience. By adding points, leaderboards, and rewards, the platform motivates viewers to improve their score, compete with friends, and return for the next game. Players can favorite shows during the broadcast for recommendations upon their next visit.
This can be promoted on the platform’s homepage to let viewers anticipate the next game, check the game schedule, and engage in live games. The experience can even be provided to unregistered or lapsed (churned) subscribers to re-engage them and encourage them to subscribe.
The business value includes churn reduction; subscribers who are engaged and entertained are likelier to remain loyal to the platform and maintain their subscription. It can also generate revenue through partnerships with brands that sponsor the games or provide prizes for winners.
Boost viewer loyalty and reduce churn
If you’re an SVOD platform looking to boost viewer loyalty and reduce churn, embrace viewer engagement with interactive games. Let Ex Machina’s unique solutions elevate your platform’s success and activate your audience like never before.
We’re excited to explore various interactive formats with diverse game modes, rewards, and achievements, across different genres and time zones.
Reach out to me directly, visit our website, or send an email to info@exmachinagroup.com to get the conversation going!
