Social Video Helps, Not Hurts, TV, Film Consumption, Per New Study
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Social video may be cutting into the time viewers could be spending with TV and movies, but a new study from Warner Bros. Discovery suggests that doesn’t necessarily mean platforms such as YouTube and TikTok are more foe than friend to Hollywood.
Data from the last leg of a multiphase study the media company’s corporate research division has been conducting on U.S. consumers indicates short-form video is a powerful tool for discovering long-form content across TV and film, whether it be on streaming services, linear channels or in movie theaters.
Data from the study shared exclusively with VIP+ suggests high correlation between programming that is first teased on short-form content and then drives users to see in full off of mobile platforms.
Eighty-five percent are watching full episodes, while 80% go on to see a full season, 78% a full series and 76% multiple seasons, according to first-party data provided to Warner Bros. Discovery via cross-platform and device digital media measurement solution Media IDentity Graph (MIDG) findings courtesy of research firm Maverix Insights & Strategy.
For transactional viewing opportunities, including going to a movie theater, those high correlation numbers come down some, but they are still fairly elevated, with 54%, for instance, subscribing to a streaming service to watch a series or a channel to follow a TV show.
All content on short-form platforms is not created alike, however. Trailers tend to perform better as discovery tools for movies, while clips are often a stronger driver of interest for TV.
Official marketing materials that are able to use IP are largely more effective than user-generated content that doesn't make use of the IP — including the short-form content categories analysis, skits and reaction/reviews noted at the bottom of the above chart.
The WBD study also found that entertainment content was far and away the most common theme users encountered on social video platforms such as YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. Entertainment extended to 93% of those surveyed, a far cry from the 70% of learning-based content users sought or 58% of news-based content.
Hear more about Warner Bros. Discovery’s research in the latest episode of Variety's “Strictly Business” podcast:
