Roku’s just-released 2024 predictions reveal several key insights for the coming year. (Read them in full here.) In this post, we will explore why 2024 will be a reset year for content as streaming media giants refocus on their audiences. Read on for more.
2023 was a wild and unpredictable year for entertainment. After years of bullish investment in content and growth, the largest streaming services focused on profitability. At the same time, the actors' and writers' strikes disrupted production schedules.
In response, we believe 2024 will see media companies emphasize audience loyalty and engagement with their content and IP across channels. They will also seek new ways to monetize existing content. Here’s how:
First, streaming services will find new ways to surface outstanding TV and movies in an environment of relative scarcity for new scripted content.¹ The 2023 production dip will also inspire viewers to catch up on the abundance of content produced in recent years. (The number of movies and TV shows available on streaming increased 39% in just two years.²)
Older content is still gold, according to Roku data. When streamers search for a series on Roku, the average query is for a title that is nearly 14 years old, and only 16% of series searches on Roku are for shows that currently air on broadcast TV.³
In 2024, free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels will flourish as viewers catch up on content without breaking the bank.
FAST platforms like Pluto TV (a Paramount company), Tubi, and The Roku Channel have seen incredible growth during this period. Thus far in 2023, the YoY growth of FAST channel reach and engagement on Roku has outpaced that of the overall platform.⁴
We believe FAST channels will continue to be popular in 2024. Pluto TV’s Valerie Kaplan is bullish too:
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Streaming services have typically used their intellectual property to attract new subscribers, requiring a subscription to watch desired shows. But as they pivot toward profitability, we predict some will take a more liberal approach to licensing.
From one perspective, this is about retaining viewers regardless of where they stream. Importantly, media companies’ willingness to distribute shows off-platform will likely apply to some but not all of their content.
This pivot has already begun: You can now watch Warner Bros.'s Dune and The Pacific on Netflix.
Want to learn more? Read Roku’s full 2024 predictions.
¹ Global Streamers’ Original Content Spend Increase to Slow in 2023 Amid “More Cautious Approach”
² Gracenote Global Video Data; July 2021 and June 2023
³ Internal Roku Data, 2023
⁴ Internal Roku Data, 2023