How Unexpected Events Impact On-Demand Viewing

More than 20 of the variables we found are plannable including holidays like Christmas or events like the Oscars The talent featured in a film also has a measurable effect on rental performanceBut many fall into the other category Think snow days for example these surprise days off are a perfect opportunity to reach a household whose members didn39t plan on being home Now they have more time in the day call them quotondemand viewing hoursquot at their disposal On the other hand of course some weather events lead to outages which could prevent families from watching anything at allRecently we noticed this phenomenon in the Los Angeles market which overindexed consistently against other markets in JanuaryIn 2018 LA had a 159 index for transactions against other top markets like Detroit Denver Philadelphia and New York Looking at January 2019 their index increased 27 to 201 While not all revenue spikes can be planned for they can be explained this increase lined up with the Los Angeles United School District teachers39 strike Schools were shut down from Jan 14 to Jan 22 affecting around 600000 students and their families With their unexpected free hours families turned to ondemand rentalsWhen these unplanned events happen it39s also important to look at the MVPDs who benefit Each MVPD has a natural geographical alignment to certain genres depending on the markets each is zoned for and the demographics of those marketsFor example TWC organically performs best with family titles and the markets they are zoned for skew suburban Altice organically performs best on drama titles with their subscriber concentration mainly in the New York market Cox does well with action movies and is mainly in military zones When those areas have more viewable hours whether planned or unplanned the movies that organically do well will popIn LA a top market for TWC a wide range of PGrated familyoriented titles saw the biggest bump from the strike Goosebumps Incredibles 2 Smallfoot and The House with a Clock in Its Walls each saw transactional boosts during the week of the strike And once the strike ended each of these titles resumed their expected weekly decayNot all films saw viewing increases during the unplanned strike Horror movies like Halloween which typically have an average performance in the LA market saw a higherthanaverage decline from week 1 before the strike to week 2 during the strikeStudios want to know why a movie performed a certain way at a certain time but the variables that contribute to ondemand rentals are often unpredictable At Cadent we have the experience and historical data to dig in and understand what is contributing to increases and decreases in rental revenue We can look at performance from different angles to find explanatory connections and correlations then make strategic suggestionsWhile things like the LA teachers39 strike may not have a next time studios should be ready for similar unexpected moments when rich opportunities for ondemand titles hit When they do being able to move quickly and strategically is critical For example advertising a discounted bundle for movie rentals could make all the differenceClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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How Unexpected Events Impact On-Demand Viewing

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Karen Abram

Jon Miller | Cofounder Marketo, Engagio | The Gumball Machine is Broken - Rethinking B2B Marketing - By Mike Linton

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Karen Abram

Jon Miller | Cofounder Marketo, Engagio | The Gumball Machine is Broken - Rethinking B2B Marketing - By Mike Linton

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