How Streaming Platforms Are Changing the Way We Discover New Content

Gone are the days when viewers had to read through TV schedules to find new shows and their timings. On-demand entertainment ushered in a new era of streaming content. Streaming platforms, with the variety of content on offer and their algorithms, have changed how we discover and consume content forever.

The radical shift in streaming has also changed our viewing habits. Personalization is the name of the game for platforms looking to improve user engagement. In this article, we will dive into the different ways in which streaming has evolved and changed the way we consume content.

Passive to Active Content Discovery

Content discovery was mostly passive due to the limited channels and fixed schedules of programs on TV. Newspapers would publish TV guides with schedules of different channels on a daily basis. Viewers would tune in to a TV channel at a specific time to catch up on their favourite shows.

Today, streaming platforms have made it possible to access a huge library of content from anywhere, anytime. It is similar to players now finding their favorite game shows on gaming portals instead of the ‘play-along’ TV version. Just like a fan of Bingo or Deal or No Deal could simply log on to any online casino site to play a game, viewers can easily browse through hundreds or thousands of shows and movies across various genres on Netflix or any other streaming platform.

The Role of Recommendation Algorithms

The AI-powered recommendation algorithms take into account the viewing history of the user, along with their preferences and ratings they give to the shows they’ve already watched. In addition to Netflix and YouTube, these recommendation models are also used by audio streaming platforms like Spotify.

Streaming has also pushed creators to explore new ways of content creation, such as reviews and curated lists of shows and movies for their readers to explore. These lists are mostly curated by experts as a way to engage with their audience. It is much like a gambler posting a handpicked list of his favourite casino sites that offer the best return-to-player ratio for popular games.

The Rise of Communities, Reviews, and Trends

Online communities like Reddit threads and fan forums help fans find new content that is similar to the shows or movies they already like. With the fall in popularity of TV guides, we have new guides to online content where viewers can find handpicked content curated by experts.

Niche guides are quite popular and also very helpful. They are not limited to streaming content. Gaming experts also publish guides to online games and consoles to help their readers discover new games.

Sports fans discover new ways of engaging in the game through expert reviews of sportsbooks and match previews that offer valuable insights into the game and betting markets.

One example is Casino.com – The UK’s Casino Guide, which offers curated resources and content to help players discover new games, bonus offers, and more. Guides to streaming platforms such guides to casinos and gaming also offer reviews of the popular gaming and casino sites.

Future of Content Discovery in Streaming

While AI and machine learning take big leaps forward, we expect the recommendation models to improve manifold. At the same time, streaming platforms will also focus on genre-specific discovery to improve engagement and overall user experience. The focus will be shifted to offering more personalised experiences to the viewers. At the same time, smaller platforms with more curated content will also grow popular in the future.