Consumers of over-the-top (OTT) video don’t have a lot of patience when it comes to the performance of content delivery systems, according to an inaugural market survey and report from Conviva, which specializes in optimization of the online video experience.
According to Conviva’s “How Consumers Judge Their Viewing Experience: The Business Implications of Sub-Par OTT Service,” nearly three-quarters of all OTT video viewers give up on OTT video viewing within the first four minutes if they experience “stream interruptions, inadequate picture fidelity and other poor streaming experience issues.”
OTT Video Satisfaction Survey
Carrying out a survey of 750 consumers ages 26-34 – a key OTT-viewer demographic – Conviva found:
- Viewers report low tolerance for poor video experience: Only 25 percent of respondents would engage with video content for more than four minutes of an inferior viewing experience;
- Attachment to specific OTT services vacillates: One in three viewers leaves to find content elsewhere as soon as playback degradations occur and 40 percent reported reduced affinity for a service after one bad experience;
- Poor experiences on one device impact viewing across devices: Fewer than 16 percent of consumers would try watching on another device after a sub-par experience on their first attempted device;
- Consumers believe multiple parties are to blame: Viewers assign blame for poor experiences almost equally to the OTT service they are using, their ISP, and CDNs delivering the content.
“The stakes have never been higher,” Conviva CEO Hui Zhang was quoted in the news release. “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.”
