First experience crucial for streaming services, says report

Stream interruptions, inadequate picture fidelity and other poor streaming experience issues prompt nearly three-quarters of all OTT video viewers to give up in the first four minutes of playback, according to a report by Quality of Service and data analytics specialist Conviva. 

According to the company’s “How Consumers Judge their Viewing Experience” report, only 25% of respondents would engage with video content for more than four minutes of an inferior viewing experience, while one in three viewers leaves to find content elsewhere as soon as playback degradations occur and 40% reported reduced affinity for a service after one bad experience.

Conviva found that fewer than 16% of consumers would try watching on another device after a sub-par experience on their first attempted device, while viewers typically assign blame for poor experiences almost equally to the OTT service they are using, their ISP, and CDNs delivering the content.

Conviva interviewed 750 consumers aged between 26-34 earlier this year.

“The stakes have never been higher,” said Hui Zhang, CEO of Conviva. “As content consumption moves away from the traditional TV-based model, broadcasters need to ensure their online platforms deliver a seamless experience regardless of the device used. Conviva helps the world’s top providers maximize video experiences and optimize engagement through metrics, analytics and preemptive optimization, which not only alert them to potential issues, but also avert those issues in real time during playback.”