In Warning Sign for Hollywood, Younger Consumers Are Choosing Creator Content Over Premium TV and Movies – Hollywood Reporter
Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood ReporterSubscribe for full access to The Hollywood ReporterA new Deloitte study shows that Gen Zers are choosing social and creator-driven content over big-budget entertainment, as consumers overall feel a price pinch over streaming.
By
Alex Weprin
Media & Business Writer
Hollywood will have to navigate a world in which consumers are increasingly choosing to spend more of their time with creator-driven entertainment and social platforms rather than premium content.
That is a key takeaway from Deloitte‘s 19th annual digital media trends survey, which asks consumers about their media and entertainment preferences.
The survey finds that 56 percent of Gen Zs and 43 percent of millennials surveyed find social media content “more relevant than traditional TV shows and movies,” and roughly half feel a stronger personal connection to social media creators than to TV personalities or actors.
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“Think about the war for people’s attention and time that exists today, between traditional media and social media,” says China Widener, vice chair of Deloitte LLP and U.S. technology, media and telecom leader, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “With Gen Z, they spend 54 percent more time — think of it as about 50 minutes a day, on average — more on their social platforms, and they spend about 43 minutes a day less in traditional TV and media. So when you just think about it in the context of where they’re spending their time, are they using both service types? Yes. But they are spending more time in the social media platforms than they are on the traditional platforms.”
If the entertainment industry is in a battle for time and attention from consumers, many of the largest entertainment studios and streamers are finding themselves having to compete with giant tech platforms stacked with creators catering to every niche possible.
The survey found that younger consumers simply trust creators more, and feel a more personal connection to them, which in turn bolsters advertising engagement. And tech platforms laden with AI recommendation tech are further spinning up the consumption flywheel, adding another challenge that traditional entertainment companies may have a hard time matching.
“It is the creator-driven engagement that is the draw, and ultimately, what we found and talk a bit about in the report, is this notion that they feel a stronger personal connection — 52 percent of Gen Z, 45 percent of millennials in the survey — said they just feel a stronger connection to social media creators,” Widener says, adding that these consumers can more closely identify with creators. “What the younger audience is telling us, the Gen Z’s and the millennials are telling us is that the ads and product reviews they get on social media, they’re more influential on their purchasing decisions. They simply believe them more.”
Creators are also pouring a flood of content onto social platforms every day, which in turn leverage AI-powered algorithms to steer content to consumers. Streaming platforms have recommendation engines too, of course, but with a much smaller selection of content, retaining these users could end up being a challenge.
“As AI becomes more and more prevalent in all our phases of work and play, the fact that social platforms are leveraging it in a way that allows them to personalize the experience differently, I think is actually important, and it’s going to be a challenge for traditional and streaming media to replicate that,” Widener says. “And I think that’s a nuance in this that is worth mentioning more broadly.”
The Deloitte survey also examined the question of value, and found that consumers across the board are increasingly dissatisfied with the value provided by paid streaming services. Almost half say that they pay too much for the SVOD services they use, and 41 percent say that the content isn’t worth the price.
Value-driven options, like free, ad-supported streaming services (FAST) are rising, particularly among younger consumers.
“There’s a level of frustration,” Widener says. “Prices are rising, this questioning of the value, and this turning to the free, ad supported services, if that frustration isn’t mitigated in some way relative to the increased costs, then the reality is, there’s going to continue to be this challenge, and it’s going to force a different business model conversation in the future, if ultimately, the services and the companies that own them can’t figure out how to thread this particular needle as it relates to these rising pricing pressures.”Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every daySign up for THR news straight to your inbox every daySubscribe for full access to The Hollywood ReporterSend us a tip using our anonymous form.
