New research from Parks Associates finds 70% of US broadband households with a major video service consider its user interface to be good, with 48% rating it “very good,” and these scores impact their willingness to recommend the service to others. Analysis of consumer responses reveals quality of the UI and the ease of finding content are the most likely factors to drive willingness to recommend a video service.
“User interfaces are a key factor driving satisfaction for OTT services, and Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon – the big three in OTT streaming – have largely set the standard for content navigation and ease of use,” said Kristen Hanich, Senior Analyst, Parks Associates, in a statement. “Other services have had to follow similar structures established by these three, but as new OTT services launch with greater and greater expectations, innovations in UIs could be an even greater differentiator contributing to their success or failure.”
UI Preferences and Content Discovery reports that one-fifth of households cancelling an OTT subscription cited an inability to find something to watch as a factor.
“Consumers are interested in finding particular shows or genres of content and have less interest in browsing by channel,” Hanich said.
• 70% of CE purchasers said ease of use is a “very important” purchase consideration.
• When searching for something to watch, 12% of OTT users consider recommendations from the service as their first step.
• Apple TV owners give high marks to the device’s UI.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple TV’s UI is second to none, even if its included Siri Remote leave much to be desired (hint: use Apple’s Apple TV Remote app on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch as it’s a much better experience).
Bonus tip:
You can quickly switch between different apps on Apple TV without having to return to the Home screen. App-switching view on Apple TV works very much like the multitasking feature on iPhone or iPad:
• On the Siri Remote or Apple TV Remote app, press the Home button twice quickly.
• In app-switching view that appears, swipe left or right on the Touch surface of the Siri Remote or Apple TV Remote app to navigate to a different app, then press the Touch surface to open the highlighted app.
• Swipe up on the Touch surface of the Siri Remote or Apple TV Remote app to force the highlighted app to quit.
• To leave app-switching view without changing apps, press the Menu button button on the Siri Remote or Apple TV Remote app.