More and more Germans prefer to stream online than to watch classic linear TV. The selection of the individual services is the decisive argument for or against him. But how do the streaming providers actually determine which content can be seen in their media library?
Streaming is increasingly replacing conventional linear television. Especially during the corona pandemic, more streams were streamed than ever before – but even before that the streaming competition was tough. There are more and more well-known providers on the market. So in times when the overall package has to be right and when simply offering as much content as possible is no longer enough, it is becoming increasingly important what kind of content is actually offered to subscribers.
Who streams what, is it also available on another platform, which film and which series do you absolutely have to see? TECHBOOK asked the streaming providers what criteria they use to put together their offerings and what is particularly important to them. Amazon Prime Video, Joyn, RTL+ and Sky WOW responded.
Streaming providers are increasingly relying on originals
Most streaming services are now based on three pillars: in-house productions – so-called originals -, exclusively purchased titles and non-exclusive purchased titles. The pillar of the originals is becoming more and more important, since this original content can be seen exclusively from the respective provider and is highly brand-building. The processes for designing these three pillars are quite similar across all services.
To this end, Joyn and RTL+ work closely with those responsible for the television program, since the content is then usually also shown on linear television by the stations in their own group. We also cooperate with other broadcasters to acquire licenses. There is significantly less pressure on the streaming services than on TV programming. There is a rivalry for the respective target groups that has built up over the years in terms of ratings on television; at Joyn and RTL + one is still much freer in this regard.
This also opens up completely new, creative possibilities for the Originals. In this way, the free areas in particular can be filled with new, sometimes experimental content for a younger target group and other media such as social networks can also be included.
Market Specific Content
At Sky and Amazon, on the other hand, which generally operate more internationally, there are national creative teams. It is important for the streaming providers to develop more German formats for the German market. We have already observed this development in recent years with series such as “Dark” on Netflix or “Das Boot” on Sky. The highest quality standards would apply; the German productions should not be inferior to the great American ones.
Above all, Sky and Amazon also indicated sport, both live and in the media library, as another important pillar. The fact that Joyn and RTL+ now also show individual sporting events shows the interest in this approach. Here, too, the demands of the market and the target groups are closely monitored, so that in Germany, for example, a lot of football, the number 1 popular sport, is played.
The target group is king
All streaming services surveyed by TECHBOOK emphasized that customer feedback is taken very seriously when selecting new series and films for the program. There are very different systems. At Amazon, for example, the user’s specific star rating decides whether a series will be continued or not. Other services do not offer a comparable rating system, but Joyn, for example, is currently establishing interactive formats such as “Knossis Kingdom”. In this game show, viewers can influence the design of the show by voting.
In general, streaming providers are clearly focusing on a younger target group. This is in the nature of the medium, as it is primarily 14 to 34 year olds who use video streaming services. Young viewers can also directly establish a brand relationship.
Series are weighted higher than movies
In accordance with the medium and also the younger target group, the general weighting of streaming providers when selecting programs is more in the direction of series. These have a longer half-life than films and are usually less complex in the production of individual episodes than a film. In addition, this lasts an average of two hours, while a series runs much longer even with only one season. Users come back to the streaming service more often to watch the individual episodes of a season. Accordingly, all streaming providers surveyed clearly rely on serial narratives for the originals named as the most important.
For example, Amazon Prime Video started producing its own series in 2013, but the first film didn’t follow until 2015. The first German film original “One Night Off” only appeared last year. It is similar with the others. So far, Joyn has only focused on series, shows and multi-part documentaries for his originals. At RTL+, a documentary fiction that will be published in 2021 is faced with a significantly larger range of series such as “Sisi” or “The King of Palma”. And at Sky, too, the list of self-produced series is significantly longer than that of the films.
Are we getting more bundled streaming deals?
Recent polls such as Market research institute Nielsen all paint a clear picture. Despite all the positive developments on the streaming market, users are increasingly feeling overwhelmed by the growing range of different streaming services. This results in the desire for bundled offers where you can use several services.
The streaming providers are reacting to this more and more. Sky, for example, now offers a bundle with Netflix, among other things. Other services could also go in this direction in the future.