OTT: Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Audience Differences -- Bill Harvey and Alex Petrilli

In Part 4 of our series we forage into the heavy OTT household to determine what characteristics and viewing preferences categorize a Netflix Hulu Plus and Amazon Instant subscriber Based on our January 2014 survey of the TiVo PowerWatch Panel of people who streamed six or more hours a month from one of the three top sites distinct differences appear In terms of household characteristics Netflix homes index high with household incomes of 200000 compared to the overall panel A distinguishing feature that typically accompanies upper income Netflix heavy streamers are also inclined to be homeowners Hulu Plus heavy users on the other hand tend to be single with a higher propensity of Hispanic and AfricanAmerican subscribers The Amazon Instant profile is also a likely homeowner despite a more modest income and underindexing when it comes to college attendanceViewing preferences are equally diverse A quick look at the top ten indexing networks reveals only two that fall on all three lists Fox and Lifetime Here the data reflect set top box measurements among homes identified by survey as OTT homes of specified typesMore importantly the top indexing series is a very telling indication of what type of original programming might work for these streaming services Perhaps in the case of Amazon we are too late in releasing this information since Amazon is already committed to new series that do not align well with their heavy vieweramp8217s preferences but we felt it was our responsibility to report the resultsLike the demographics the linear program viewing revealed by settop box data also shows that the three leading OTT services are somewhat counter specialized in the types of audiences they mostly serve One commonality is the popularity among all three types of OTT users of PBSamp8217s series amp8220Washington Week with Gwen Ifillamp8221 with aboveaverage viewing Among Netflix and Hulu but not Amazon OTT users a couple of other PBS series wind up in the top tenFirst up is Netflix in all its amp8220House of Cardsamp8221 and amp8220Orange Is the New Blackamp8221 glory Who are we to tell them what to program because by all indications they are doing a fine job In any event here are top ten indexing series for the fourth quarter of 2013Based on recent reports some of the upcoming Netflix series on the docket fit well with series that deliver a high index An adult animated comedy scheduled for summer release amp8220Bojack Horsemanamp8221 appears to be a good fit based on amp8220Futuramaamp8217samp8221 index BBCAamp8217s amp8220Atlantisamp8221 1378 index matches well with their recently announced series based on the life of Marco Polo And from the creators of amp8220The Matrixamp8221 theatrical trilogy the Wachowskis comes a globehopping series called amp8220Sense8amp8221 which aligns nicely with AMCamp8217s amp8220The Walking Deadamp8221 135 indexAmazonamp8217s upcoming slate includes a significant commitment to kidsamp8217 series which seems like a solid match based on Nickelodeon ranking fifth in their top indexing network list above But outside of the renewal for the comedy amp8220Alpha Houseamp8221 the remaining new series from Amazon are dramas amp8220Transparentamp8221 amp8220Mozart in the Jungleamp8221 a crime drama amp8220Boschamp8221 and a scifi series from the creator of amp8220The XFilesamp8221 amp8220The Afteramp8221Unfortunately Amazonamp8217s top ten list and extended list of highindexing programs is loaded with home improvement cooking and the occasional sitcom In all fairness NBCamp8217s amp8220Parenthoodamp8221 scored an index of 1308 which should bode well for amp8220Transparentamp8221 but beyond that we see little commonalityThe Hulu Plus top indexing programs serve as a good match for their upcoming and returning slate of seriesThe most recent launch by Hulu Plus amp8220Deadbeatamp8221 has a passing resemblance to Lifetimeamp8217s amp8220Drop Dead Divaamp8221 and scifi series amp8220Misfitsamp8221 should work well based on amp8220Havenamp8221 ranking seventh on the list Another new series that Hulu announced at their recent Upfront presentation thatamp8217s right Hulu had an Upfront this year is amp8220The Next Stepamp8221 a realitystyle drama about a group of dancers at a popular studio That matches up perfectly with the fourth ranked series from our list Lifetimeamp8217s dance reality series amp8220Abby39s Ultimate Dance Competitionamp8221Clearly these relatively new players are in it for the long haul OTT is changing the game in new and never before imagined ways and original series programming is just one facet You want game changing look no further than TiVoamp8217s announcement that Netflix will occupy a channel on three TiVotechnologybased cable systems in the United States Atlantic Broadband RCN Telecom Services and Grande Communications Netflix coming to TiVo on three cable carriers The OTT motto can be summed up in the words of amp8220House of Cardsamp8221 scheming Frank Underwood amp8220For those of us climbing to the top of the food chain there can be no mercy There is but one rule hunt or be huntedamp8221Unlike the Hollywood tradition these new studios are data driven They look at consumer records intelligently to draw Big Data powered conclusions and they use survey research to further enlighten themselves Time will tell whether this leads to a higher success rate The network series success rate is single digits if the criterion of success is five years on network enabling syndication aftermarket One of Billamp8217s new companies ScreenSavants still flying under the radar is specializing in the use of Big and Small Data to enhance the success rate of new screen contentAs technology companies get rich and pour some of their winnings into content creation more creatives will get to work instead of starve and the newcomers helping to drive OTT viewing with new content of their own are destined to change the entire face of entertainment worldwide Bill Harvey is a wellknown media researcher and inventor who cofounded TRA Inc and is its Strategic Advisor His nonprofit Human Effectiveness Institute runs his weekly blog on consciousness optimization Bill can be contacted at billbillharveyconsultingcomRead all Billamp8217s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at In Terms of ROI Alex Petrilli serves as senior manager of media insights at TiVo In this role Alex is responsible for utilizing the vast data resources available at TiVo to convey valuable information about the television industry and viewing trends Alex has presented TiVo StopWatch data at past conferences including TMRE ARF Research 50 and BBM CanadaCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates at MediaBizBloggerThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentariesamp160

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OTT: Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Audience Differences -- Bill Harvey and Alex Petrilli

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Bill Harvey & Alex Petrilli

Empowering Women in Media: Insights from Industry Leaders (Video) - By E.B. Moss

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Click to Make Your 2025 Contribution to Support the MediaVillage Education Foundation

OTT: Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Audience Differences -- Bill Harvey and Alex Petrilli

Bill Harvey & Alex Petrilli

Empowering Women in Media: Insights from Industry Leaders (Video) - By E.B. Moss

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