Survey Says: What Kinds of Interactive Streaming Experiences Do Viewers Want?
What kinds of interactive, lean-forward streaming experiences can help drive engagement that attracts fans and holds their attention? What are the top things viewers are demanding from streaming interactivity? Jennifer Kent, VP Research, Parks Associates, shares the latest insights from Parks’s research in this discussion with Ring Digital’s Brian Ring at Streaming Media Connect 2024.
Interactive engagement remains primarily on social platforms rather than on TV
Ring mentions that Parks Associates stack ranked the kinds of interactive experiences people want to have, and he asks Kent to describe their findings.
Kent says their research revealed that consumers are highly engaged with interactive video experiences, though still primarily on social platforms rather than on TV. “79% of consumers who are on some sort of social platform are watching a video, which is 80% of all consumers,” she says. “The general population says that they have engaged with video in some way over the past 30 days, sharing videos with others, jumping into live streams, commenting on videos. It's really normal behavior [everywhere], other than on the TV.”
She notes that most interactive activities on TV are currently transactive. The Parks Associates study categorized interactive TV features into three groups:
General interactivity
Kent says, “In the general interactive feature space, [there is] Interest in things like seeing recommendations from people you actually know or a favorites list. Also, for the manufacturers, seeing live streams of your video from other video sources, like your video doorbell, and making that TV serve a new function or a new purpose for you. So a bit [of a] broader view of what we're discussing on interactivity there.”
Sports-specific tasks
“On the sports side, people love the choice in broadcast, getting to listen to who they want to listen to,” Kent says. “[Receiving] interactive stats and data. A little bit of interest in being in a chat on the side. Maybe trash-talking with other teams’ fans a little bit.”
Commerce-specific actions
“On the commerce side, the number one thing was being able to purchase something from an ad,” Kent says. “The number one thing was food delivery. Seeing a food [promo] specifically and being able to just be like, ‘Yes, I want that pizza. I'm in the middle of the game!’”
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