In its State of the Broadcast Industry 2018 report, the online video software and services monetisation provider found that fundamentally viewers are embracing content anywhere, on any device. Yet Ooyala suggests that they could be navigating a world in which there may be simply too many choices, thus leading to frustration.

The report indicated that Millennials, who it says are arguably the key demographic for streaming services, are already overwhelmed with the plethora of options. And amid all this abundance, they also indicate that they are not completely satisfied with their current OTT services.

Yet this may not be all bad news: Ooyala asserts that consumer frustration will likely drive improvements in the OTT experience, with more streamlined authentication, better content curation, personalisation and easier search and discovery. At the same time, Ooyala predicts that mobile viewing will continue to explode.

The report identifies several areas of focus by content distributors as they seek to attract and maintain share of view. These include: format experimentation, social media, bundling, IP technology, original content. Given these drivers, OTT is entering a pivotal year says Ooyala. It notes that online viewership of marquee 2018 events such as the Winter Olympics and the Royal Wedding is anticipated to ‘break the Internet’. In 2018, success may come to those companies which excite consumers with innovations in discovery and content delivery, funded through new monetisation methodologies.

Looking at what else may happen over the next 12 months, Ooyala says the industry should expect more skinny bundling experiments in 2018 and that the embrace of data will be crucial to TV industry success. It added that it was also likely that distributors will have less patience for the time it has traditionally taken to build audiences and they may be quick to cancel shows and that content creators would also increasingly pursue new revenue streams such as subscription plus advertising and more merchandising of shows.

“TV viewing is continuing to go to a much more personalised, one-to-one experience,” said Ooyala co-founder and SVP of products and solutions, Belsasar Lepe. “Where previously you might have sat with your family and consumed your favourite show together, it’s going to be online and much more personalised with additional features such as virtual and augmented reality.”