Life is a collection of choices with varying levels of importance, but few choices have more momentary importance and impact than “what are we watching tonight?” Whether it’s a new original series that brings the laughs or a classic movie that brings on the nostalgia, streaming gives fans an experience wherever they are, and its popularity isn’t slowing down anytime soon.
To understand the streamer perspective, Twitter consistently runs research on streaming behaviors, content preferences, timeline conversation and more. Because there's a never-ending amount of information available about streaming services, we want to help break down the highlights so studios have easy access to what's going on behind the scenes and what audiences actually care about.
Globally, viewers turn to streaming services mainly to watch new original content, with catalog content trailing closely behind in popularity.¹ And our research shows studios matching the trend, as an increasing number of platforms take back the rights to stream their classics while simultaneously ramping up new original content. While sports programming and adaptations are less popular, they’re still strong streaming drivers. Therefore it comes as no surprise that the type of content available on a platform plays a significant role in how consumers weigh in on what services they subscribe to … or not.
Which streaming services do you subscribe to? I'm just curious. It's getting so nuts with so many good shows on all these different platforms...You could end up spending a lot of money. I have Netflix, Hulu, Prime, & Starz atm
— Kate (@MsInmadcity) June 9, 2021
Studios looking to find success in a thriving market of established and upcoming streaming services will need to take the time to expand the reach of their exclusive content and uniquely engage with audiences. Here are trends and opportunities we’re seeing in the industry, and how studios can achieve success by converting streamers into fans.
1. Reach out and touch the timeline. Looking across North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia, our research shows that more than 67% of the sampled audiences watches two or more streaming services, and almost 51% watch three.² This is a significant figure considering the varying preferences and socioeconomic ranges of households around the world. As an aside, on average, audiences on Twitter are 44% more likely than non-Twitter users to watch more than three streaming services.³