Comcast Advertising and FreeWheel have released a report titled, Content Discovery in a Multiscreen TV World: Surfing and Scrolling in a Sea of Content. This global report analyses trends of how consumers navigate and discover TV content across traditional and streaming in the US and five European countries (UK, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy).

The findings come at a pivotal point for the industry as audiences are searching across multiple apps and services, with only 25 per cent of viewers surveyed stating that all their content can be accessed in one place. Its custom insights and actionable considerations are designed to help platforms and content owners strengthen their offerings and enhance the consumer experience.

According to the report, two-thirds of European viewers are spending more than six minutes searching for something to watch – with 46 per cent stating that the difficulty in finding new content can get frustrating.

“The amount of content audiences have access to today is seemingly limitless and as it fragments across more platforms and devices, consumers are clearly overwhelmed with how to choose,” said Emmanuel Josserand, Senior Director, Brand, Agency, & Industry Relations at FreeWheel. “Since discovery plays a large part in the user experience, these findings offer invaluable insights into how providers can enhance the navigation experience. This in turn will result in more opportunity to engage viewers with relevant ads and build brand sentiment.”

Other insights include:   

·  Social circles play a big role in how viewers learn about new content: 51 per cent of European (vs 55 per cent of American) viewers said they receive recommendations from friends, family, and colleagues.

·  Viewers’ choices are impacted by situational factors, but genre is foundational: 75 per cent of European viewers said that genre is a key factor in choosing what to watch.

·  Channel surfing is still alive: 55 per cent of EU5 viewers start their content search by channel surfing or scrolling through a programme guide or app.

·  Individual platforms play an important role in how viewers choose content: 53 per cent of EU5 viewers have found and watched content recommended on their home screen, highlighting how essential it is for content owners and advertisers to tap into this feature.