While big streamers invest billions annually in new content, super-aggregators like Struum, JustWatch, and Reelgood are not investing in content, but helping mid and small streaming services find audiences. Lauren Devillier, CEO And Co-Founder of Struum, focuses on the next trend in streaming.
What is the biggest challenge facing streaming services right now? How do challenges differ between large and small services?
The biggest challenges today for the streaming services is the investment in content and share of time spent (e.g. eyeballs) reducing overall churn with a constant push towards international expansion. The landscape is evolving and growing up and from a consumer standpoint it’s becoming increasingly challenging to find what you want to watch. It is expensive and not personalized across services. Along with that, we now have services to help you find content like Reelgood and JustWatch. So it has become unwieldy.
Outside the big 5 players in the market today (Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, HBOMax, Amazon), the remaining services are challenged by platform technology, content and marketing investment to compete, not to mention, search is not indexed for 95% of services. Driving awareness is difficult. The bigger players have the resources to tackle the tech needs, the distribution needs and marketing needs. The smaller players are at a distinct disadvantage in this area. The important role we play is ensuring that the over 200 services out there get an opportunity to have their content seen by viewers.
What is the business model for “super aggregators”?
The super aggregator is going to integrate all types of media and be the one-stop shop for a customer long term. It will be a place that consumers can access multiple types of media under a single roof. Right now, though, the super aggregator like Struum, is providing a seamless and frictionless experience to over 70 services and 25K assets. The value in providing that service is two-fold. We are bringing great content partners forward to distribution platforms. The distribution platform must focus on attracting and retaining customers. The value is in the one subscription model unlocking those assets. We are packaging up premium services to distribution platforms to open to their customers and with 60% of customers wanting library content, the value we serve to the content providers and distribution platforms is exponential on value.
Who do you predict will be the last players standing in the streaming field?
The players who will be standing are those who create a unified experience across content and distribution and for consumers, provide a top notch, seamless and frictionless experience. Personalization is also going to be critical to a consumer experience. If you have five services, each is personalized for you but nothing carries from one service to the next in terms of your “likes.” This will need to be solved. More and more, we will see M&A activity across not only video but other mediums too, like audio and games. The customer will ultimately want a diverse range of content under one subscription.
