5 Problems Plaguing Streaming UX — and 5 Tips to Fix Them

We have all heard executives at streaming services talking about subscriber acquisition, retention, content breadth and variety, frequency, engagement, churn and cyclical churn. At the same time, we hear the same streamers talk about being customer centered, customer first and customer-obsessed.

But one thing none of them are talking about and all have in common is broken customer and user experiences for one of the most basic customer needs and challenges: content discovery.

So why does every streaming service fail miserably at the one thing that causes the highest level of frustration and confusion for customers around the globe? It is safe to assume there is little time invested in understanding todays customers and behaviors, versus mimicking a model that Netflix launched over 15 years ago.

This to not meant to be provocative or derogatory. It comes from firsthand experience and expertise, as I have been working for over 25 years as a product, UX design and CX executive leader, with the fortunate pleasure of crafting experiences for some of the biggest brands, networks and streaming services in the world, including NBCUniversal and Discovery.

Content discovery, or the lack thereof, is one of the biggest challenges for the customer experience, but it also presents one of the biggest opportunities for growth and innovation.

When you look across almost every streaming service currently in the market and try to find something to watch after a long day at work, several things become incredibly clear:

They all look and function exactly the same

They all follow the same structure, design, user and product experience

They are all filled with useless rails, collections, posters and previews

They all have the same image ratios, artwork and promotional spaces

They all have endless scrolls and taps through a sea of sameness

In fact, they all try to do their best to hold consumers hostage, forcing them to mindlessly wander, tap, scroll and search for hours, praying theyll get tired, give up and just pick something they can monetize with some form of poorly targeted advertising.

Most people will spend an average of 30 minutes searching and cycling through different streaming services, ultimately reaching for their phone to ask friends or find reviews and ratings they can trust, all while their partner sits quietly, eyes glazed and scrolling through social feeds. If you think Im wrong, try writing a diary log for the next three weeks every time youre looking for something to watch.

When streamers and aggregators (big and small) truly begin to focus on their customers by listening, observing and understanding their actual needs, they will quickly realize that focusing on innovating, improving and solving for the problem of content discovery will result in positive and exponential increases to every other metric, including brand relevance, loyalty and satisfaction, not to mention value, monetization and revenue.

Looking to solve the challenges of poor content discovery and customer experiences without implementing algorithmic biases, programmatic pushes or rudimentary AI/ML engines will ultimately win the streaming wars between aggregators, independents, AVOD, SVOD, FAST, Os services and emerging platforms.

But in order to do this, we have to consider a new path forward instead of re-creating old linear cable models with endless channels filled with bloat and mind-numbing clicks and scrolls:

Design for intentional customer behaviors, moments and devices

Design for user routines, habits, needs, lifestyles and emotions

Understand peoples complexities, passions and motives based on cultural and societal shifts

Realize no one sticks to a single service we are all curious explorers

Develop ecosystems across devices, locations, times, regions, modalities and behavioral patterns

The very near future is not only more complex and fragmented but more confusing and frustrating for customers. When we focus on making it easier for people to discover, find and watch content, all other metrics will increase exponentially.

This is the new green field to play in, invest, grow and innovate if you want to win the future.People deserve better. We can do better.Its time to start focusing on great customer experiences.

Shawn Johnson is a global executive product, design, CX and business leader with a quarter century in the industry. He is the founder and president of Seich Syndicate SocioPunk and former group VP of global product and design at Warner Bros. Discovery, NBCUniversal and Microsoft.

SEE ALSO: Why Streaming Interfaces Dont Click With Users