Pay-TV paralyzes consumers with options

As more television becomes digital, the push to provide consumers with customized content discovery will only intensify. At least half of consumers (55%) look for a new content to watch at least once per week, and 83% look for it a few times per month, per PwC's new content discovery report.

• Content discovery is an integral part of the consumer experience: Nearly two-thirds (62%) of consumers agree that they often struggle to find something to watch, despite there being many choices available to them. Consumers say it's much harder to find something to watch than read or listen to.
• If after only a few minutes a consumer can't figure out what to put on, PwC finds that one in every five people will resort to rewatching something they've already seen.

PWC's data also suggests that content has a longer shelf life among consumers who rely exclusively on streaming. "Pay-TV subscribers favor shows released recently, while non-pay-TV streamers choose shows dispersed across several months or even years," according to the report.

• Why it matters: "Utilization of metadata and machine learning along with AI are crucial to maximizing returns on all of this investment in content," sys Greg Boyer, US Media & Entertainment Sector Advisory Leader at PwC. "User retention should grow as a recommendation becomes more intelligent and search function becomes more refined."