Industry Insider: The State of Viewership — What Are We Watching?

Daniel Francis & Adjoa Andoh (Bridgerton) and Hiroyuki Sanada (Showgun) - Netflix/FX 

2024 has already achieved viewership success across streaming platforms, linear television, and advertising. Women’s sports reached new heights, the Paris Olympics garnered millions of viewers, and new series, old and new, have captured audiences’ attention. 

And now, many are preparing for the upcoming election cycle with the U.S. public highly engaged with political networks and events. Despite the exciting thrill of new content and loyal consumers, viewership still faces issues. Namely, streaming platforms are fighting against churn, AI is being introduced to the TV data industry, and SVOD platforms are finding new ways to appeal to advertisers. So, the question remains: What is the state of viewership? A Hot Set will analyze Samba TV’s The State of Viewership to understand this question further, highlighting the ways companies are facing rising issues and how audiences are shifting the way they consume content. 

First, it seems justified to address the elephant in the room: streaming. This giant has taken over the entertainment industry, causing cable, satellite, and broadcast TV to find new ways to keep audiences engaged, fearing the worst – cable cutting. Over-the-top content, which refers to technology that delivers content through internet-connected devices (Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube, Twitch, etc.), reached a record high in 2024 with a 40% increase from 2023. Additionally, adding salt to the wound, linear consumption has continued to drop by 1% year by year, and this year it has dropped 2%, further highlighting its losing battle to streaming and other over-the-top platforms. 

The shift from linear to streaming has left a hole in the industry: How can advertisers reach consumers? Well, streaming platforms have swiftly switched to ad-supported options. At first glance, it would seem that consumers would not be willing to make the switch, and instead, choose to stay with their already subscribed standard tier. However, there seems to be a willingness among consumers to shift. All major streaming platforms now have ad-supported tiers, filling the gap that the loss of linear TV created. 

While some problems are being swiftly fixed, other issues within the streaming world are continuing to stir problems. The most prominent is churn. Churn can be defined as the rate at which subscribers cancel their subscriptions or do not renew them. Cancellations amongst streaming platforms increased over the past years with net additions dropping by more than 3 million year after year. However, is this a problem? While churn rates are increasing, more and more people are still loyal to their many platforms. Furthermore, the problem is not with the number of subscribers that are canceling their subscriptions, but instead, it is the platforms that they are choosing to let go of: “Although streaming is ubiquitous, with 99M households streaming content in H1 2024, about 44% are only willing to watch one or two platforms in six months.” It is a battle of keeping consumers' attention and engagement, thus optimizing subscription bundles against bigger platforms like Netflix, creating long-lasting release schedules, and innovating content can all help decrease churn. 

Understanding ads and churn rates is certainly important for understanding viewership; however, the core of viewership is driven by the content being released. During the first half of 2024, new seasons of hit series, like House of the Dragon and Bridgerton, and new hit shows, like Netflix’s Fool Me Once and Hulu’s Shogun, are keeping the excitement for the streaming world and churn rates low. With live sports, linear television seems to be holding on to its domain in everything sports-related: “[The 2024 Super Bowl] was the top viewed linear event of the half and was joined on the leaderboard by other NFL programming, including three playoffs games that drove over 26M views.” While things are looking bleak for linear television, 2024 might be the life vest it needs. The Presidential Debate Hosted by CNN reached over 25.5 million households across varying linear platforms. With the election around the corner, it can be assumed that more political events will garner similar, if not larger, numbers. 

With the released content in 2024, there seems to be a clear pattern: content based off of existing intellectual property drives streaming views. Samba TV reported that every top show in H1 was a spinoff, book series, video game, true story, etc. Additionally, they reported that drama continues to take the first spot in most genres: “The most popular genre of H1 2024 remained drama, which represented over two-thirds of the top shows at a 17% increase year-over-year.” 

In conclusion, 2024 has underscored the dominance of streaming platforms, as they continue to reshape the entertainment landscape. Despite linear TV's decline, evidenced by a 2% drop in consumption, streaming platforms have adapted by introducing ad-supported tiers to capture and retain audiences. Churn remains a challenge, with cancellations up by over 3 million year-on-year; however, the loyalty of subscribers to specific platforms highlights the importance of engaging content and innovative strategies. The success of franchises and dramas in the first half of 2024 illustrates that content tied to existing intellectual properties drives viewership. As streaming platforms refine their approaches to combat churn and appeal to advertisers, they are solidifying their top position in the industry. Meanwhile, linear TV finds brief respite through high-profile events and political engagement, yet the ongoing shift towards streaming underscores its growing supremacy.