As media companies grapple with how to capture and maintain viewer engagement, some realities are more clear (and daunting) than ever. “We live in an era of algorithmic attention,” said Justin Fromm, Head of Insights for Samsung Ads. He was among a cadre of market research gurus who gathered in Miami this week to dissect how modern consumers engage with everything from FAST to AVOD to SVOD to user generated content, social media noise, and AI “slop” that along with “brain rot” throwaway content makes up 20% of YouTube’s top 100 channels, according to Fromm. For researchers, the content’s scattered nature challenges old assumptions as podcasts, UGC, and even vertical, short-form “microdramas” suck up time, ad dollars, and subscription fees. As Omdia’s Maria Rua Aguete noted, microdramas alone bring in $11 billion annually, mostly in China but a growing share (9%) comes from the U.S. One consistent theme throughout Informa’s Media Insights & Engagement conference was that the industry’s separation of content into baskets (linear, premium, social, etc) holds less meaning than ever. In fact, most consumers have stopped adding new paid services, noted Christian Kurz, Paramount Skydance’s SVP, Global Streaming Research & Insights. And that means people are turning to “free” sources ranging from FAST to YouTube content. Kurz said people increasingly view free and paid sources as complimentary – with Paramount Streaming CMO Domenic DiMeglio noting in a separate session “quite a degree of overlap” between the company’s free Pluto service and paid Paramount+. “It’s always about providing them value,” he said.
Even more tricky is tailoring content that appeals to broad audiences, said Warner Bros. Discovery VP and Head of Corporate Research Natasha Hritzuk, who said liberal viewers are more open to bleaker storylines (such as dystopian sci-fi or horror) while conservatives prefer content with redemption arcs and clear resolutions. But because WBD research suggests liberals are more willing to watch conservative-leaning content than the other way around, it’s easier to grow the audience pie by appealing to conservatives with subtle storyline tweaks. “These are voices we cannot afford to ignore,” she said. Then again, some principles transcend politics. According to WBD Global Insights Director Iva Kralj-Taylor, consumers choose what to watch based on recognizable talent while enjoyment and engagement depends more on character arcs and stories. But as artificial intelligence becomes more of a factor in production, Hub Entertainment Research Principal Jon Giegengack said survey respondents consistently reject AI actors and influencers, as well as fully AI-generated movies and TV shows. “They don’t want AI in their artistry,” he said. “They want the art to come from people.” Interestingly, though, that doesn’t extend to authorized user-generated AI content based on corporate IP, with high marks for Disney’s recent deal with OpenAI to let people create AI content with its characters.
Next? Media companies still have no clear answers on exactly what people want or how to segment them these days. For example, Lauren Ingerman, Amazon Ads’ senior consumer insights manager, tore apart long-held assumptions about different generations, arguing that age demos matter far less than shared values, behaviors, and communities that bind people together (Imagine the 55-year-old gamer who has more in common with a 25-year-old than someone his own age.) But most research presented in Miami this week suggests that consumers are in total control. They can cycle in and out of content across platforms at lightning speed, even ducking around the very algorithms trying to keep them in line. In the end, the only way to capture and keep audiences might be to stop treating them as audiences altogether. Rather, each individual becomes a unique and ever-evolving organism. Demos become meaningless as individual interests and habits morph on an infinite loop, never settling into a predictable rhythm. Understanding every nuance and adjusting accordingly (and constantly) may be the only way to survive.
