How search aggregators benefit streaming services & the consumer
Discoverability is essential for online video streaming services today, where competition is high. And there are many ways to increase awareness and visibility of your content and service, including well-thought-through marketing strategies and campaigns that can build a strong online presence. Partnerships are also a fantastic way to extend marketing efforts and boost discovery.
Streaming services partnering with online search aggregators like JustWatch and PlayPilot is a great example. In our latest white paper, research analyst firm Omdia highlighted how this type of partnership can be particularly advantageous for video services, “With an increasing number of consumers relying on online searches to help decide what to watch, presence on online video comparison guides will be crucial in driving viewership.”
Search aggregation services effectively scan multiple video streaming services to surface movies and TV shows that are available. They don’t host the content themselves but instead provide links to services that do. A user can browse or type in the name of specific content they are looking for. The search aggregation service will then share information on which streaming services are currently hosting the content, whether a transaction is required, and a link to the service itself. They are particularly useful for consumers who subscribe to multiple streaming services as it eliminates having to search through each service individually.
Magine Pro partner, FlixOlé, a Spanish à la carte cinema service that offers subscribers unlimited access to hundreds of Spanish film titles, recently partnered with JustWatch. Sophie de Mac Mahon, General Manager, says: “Integrating our metadata into their system had a very positive effect on business and communication. On the one hand, since the beginning of this association, it brings us an important source of traffic directly from its page to our content, being the sixth source of traffic for Flixole.com. It also served as a tool for journalists who could refer to us as the place to see the movies they were writing about. When the marketing budget is limited, it’s essential to be present in the search aggregators to reach our potential subscribers.”
We were also joined by Sophie, alongside Rishi Kapoor, founder and CEO of paus, and Omdia, in our recent webinar, OTT Discovery: Expert insights on how to stand out amongst the crowd, where we discussed how today’s audiences discover new video services and content and what OTT providers can do to stand out amongst the crowd. Magine Pro’s CEO, Matthew Wilkinson, during the discussion, talked about how streaming services can benefit from partnerships with aggregators. Matthew says, “Enabling consumers to search for specific content within the likes of PlayPilot or JustWatch and have your content visible without the consumer being an existing subscriber to your service generates a huge opportunity for operators to increase conversion rates. Search aggregators like JustWatch and PlayPilot are also more open agnostic; they are not platform-specific like some universal search options. Generally speaking, they have much broader coverage in terms of service and discoverability.” Adding, “There’s also a wider benefit and opportunity for operators partnering with search aggregators. Aggregators like these offer a huge data point, as they can monitor what content people search for, where and when it was last available and at what price point, which can help inform a streaming services content strategy. Some also support paid marketing, which is great for services that want to boost their content visibility further as it is instantly discoverable.”
The Magine Pro OTT platform offers flexibility for all our partners. We make it easy for our clients to work together with their partners and integrate efficiently with services like PlayPilot and JustWatch. As Sophie de Mac Mahon from FlixOlé points out, “The integration is already created, and the daily updates are working perfectly. Magine Pro platform has streamlined this process, and it is worth being there and almost effortless.”
For more practical insights on improving discoverability, and to learn more about the benefits of partnering with search aggregators, check out our latest white paper and webinar.
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Want more advice and support on driving awareness & discoverability? Get in touch with the Magine Pro team and find out how we can help. You can also learn more about our flexible OTT solutions and services here.