.png)
Streaming viewers increasingly want a simpler way to navigate the growing number of services—and say poor discovery could put subscriptions at risk.
In a new Nielsen Gracenote survey, 51.6% of respondents said they were very or somewhat likely to cancel a service if they couldn’t find content that interested them, up from 48.5% a year earlier.
Discovery problems can also mean viewers miss out on programming. More than a quarter of respondents, 27.3%, said they had missed a show because they couldn’t find it, compared with 24.7% the previous year.
Live sports are a particular challenge: nearly 52% said they often don’t know which channel or service is carrying a specific event.
The survey also points to the importance of a smooth user experience. Some 87.4% of respondents said it was very or somewhat important when deciding which services to keep, up from 84.2% a year earlier.
Younger adults were especially interested in a unified way to navigate streaming. Among viewers ages 18 to 24, 78% said they wanted a single program guide covering all their services, compared with 58% the previous year. Across all respondents, 72% wanted one guide, up from 66%.
The growing volume of available content may be contributing to discovery challenges. Nearly half of respondents, 46.8%, said having too many choices led them to rewatch shows and movies rather than look for something new.
Nielsen Gracenote conducted the survey from August 11 to 19 among 3,000 adults ages 18 and older who stream content on a connected device or smart TV. Participants were in Brazil, France, Germany, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States.