As the streaming business has moved from a focus on subscriber growth to management teams touting the importance of profitability, the sector has also seen an increase in references to quality-related measures such as subscriber retention and “engagement.”
“Participation is crucial to reducing disruption, [which] “It may be the most important opportunity we have,” Josh D’Amaro, Disney’s new CEO, said on a recent earnings conference call.
But not all forms of “interaction” are created equal, which explains why its meaning has come into question and thus been fine-tuned.
Should engagement be just another word for watch time, for example? Some industry executives are beginning to argue that the answer to that question is no. “All engagement hours are not the same, and we really care about the quality of that engagement,” Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters said during an earnings conference call earlier this year. But what is the best way to compare different engagement metrics and the rhetoric promoted by different players?
Now, one of Wall Street’s leading experts has been crowned the king of streaming quality and unveiled the new MoffettNathanson Broadcast Quality Index. The arrangement of signs accordingly may be a surprise to some.
MoffettNathanson analyst Robert Fishman shared his analysis in a report released Wednesday, considering how viewing hours give live streamers the ability to generate revenue through subscriber retention and gains, increased pricing and ad revenue. It focused on key factors such as intraday viewership, content demand, franchise depth, prestige, as well as live sports and event programming.
MoffettNathanson’s analysis resulted in a ranking topped by…drumroll, please!…Disney, followed by HBO Max. Disney, “with its unparalleled franchise depth and sports portfolio, and HBO Max, are driven by the prestige of its series and movies.”
In a move that some may consider a surprise, the analyst listed Apple TV+ at No. 3, ahead of the much larger Netflix, whose performance is based “on driving demand for content, which we believe suggests its programming is better positioned to close the monetization gap over time, even if its franchise and sports depth remains modest today,” and Amazon Prime Video.
Are broadcasters ready for a phase that focuses on the quality of participation in the streaming wars?
