This analysis was conducted by Fandom, a home to entertainment fan communities across TV mobiles, games and more. The company coupled its sizable user data alongside a custom global study. Fandom has more than 300 million monthly visitors and over 250,000 fan-powered wikis.
According to the recent study, 62% of viewers claim that genre is the key differentiator, with Disney+ being the leader in this area. Also, 73% of viewers value streaming services way more if it had films and shows they can’t find anywhere else.
Image Credits: Fandom
Another key driver for retention is having a large library, according to 76% of subscribers. Fifty-five percent of users desire original shows and movies.
Disney+ has its established reputation of Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars, National Geographic, and Disney properties, while other major streaming services such as Apple TV+, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video aren’t yet riddled with franchises or superhero-sized universes.
Consumers are no longer just watching their favorite shows and moving on to the next. In a world of binge-watching and social media, casual fan behavior has evolved into super-fan behavior. Forty-six percent of dedicated fans look for community and culture around their entertainment interests, and 60% dive into online fictional universes.
There are tons of communities online dedicated to fictional universes. In particular, Fandom users placed “Star Wars,” Disney, “Harry Potter,” and Marvel in the top four and considered them as franchises that “foster always-on fan exploration outside of releases,” per the report.
Image Credits: Disney
Fandom’s user data shows that Disney+ has a +30% higher value than an average video streaming service. Disney’s huge umbrella of universes and characters has resulted in a fanfiction community unlike any other. Disney adults could single-handedly take over the Internet. Ok, not actually. But it is amusing to think about all those Mickey hats.
“It is easier for competitors to commission ‘something similar‘ to a single film or a TV Show than it is to replicate the depth of an IP universe. For these reasons, we believe IP universes will continue to play an increasing role.“
Streaming services have the opportunity to reduce churn and potentially “win” the streaming wars by driving loyalty and creating a full fan experience with unique content and franchises. Thus, streaming services need to increase the titles that lend themselves to additional storytelling, rather than independent stories which only work as a one-off movies or series.
