With hundreds of movies and TV shows added to streaming services each week, viewers have more to watch than ever. Yet great content still goes unwatched. Across live TV, sports, streaming apps and other sources, the abundance of choice can create decision fatigue, making it harder for viewers to find the content they are most likely to enjoy.
TiVo’s Q4 2025 Video Trends Report puts that abundance into perspective: individual viewers watch more than five hours of video per day and North American households, on average, use 10+ video services.
Instead of discovering something new, they scroll endlessly. They switch platforms. They restart the same show for the hundredth time. Sometimes, they give up entirely because “there’s nothing new to watch.”
Then, they cancel.
It shouldn’t be so difficult just to decide what to watch, but it is. People are frustrated. The challenge isn’t a lack of content. It’s a lack of confidence in making a choice.
The solution starts with treating discovery as more than just search and recommendations.
Discovery Is More Than Search
Rather than just looking at one piece of the puzzle, effective discovery brings together search, recommendations, metadata, aggregation, personalization and insights from across the viewer journey to create a more cohesive entertainment experience. A viewer’s needs change depending on what they’ve watched, what they’re searching for, when they’re watching and what they want in that moment.
The goal? Connect audiences with the most relevant and valuable content at the right time.
Whether viewers have just finished a favorite show or are settling in for a cozy movie night, a relevant recommendation can help them move quickly from browsing to watching.
Making discovery simple reduces user friction, allowing consumers to enjoy more content. Discovery encompasses every interaction that helps a viewer move from “What should I watch?” to “This is what I want to watch.”
The Hidden Cost of Discovery Friction
The problem isn’t only that viewers can’t find something to watch. It’s that platforms have already invested heavily in content that viewers may never find. That content creates value only when audiences engage with it. Discovery is the essential bridge between content investment and audience value.
That bridge matters even more as consumers become increasingly selective about their entertainment mix. According to our latest Video Trends Report, 35% of respondents routinely reassess their entertainment spending, while average monthly video spending reached $161. People are willing to spend on platforms that have proven value, but those same platforms have to continually demonstrate their worth.
Discovery friction is more than a frustrating evening of scrolling. It can mean:
- Lower visibility for valuable content
- Fewer viewing sessions
- Lower engagement across content libraries
- Missed monetization opportunities
- Fewer reasons for subscribers to return
Persistent discovery friction can lead to lower engagement and higher churn rates. When discovery breaks down, platforms don’t just lose a viewing opportunity — they risk losing the subscriber altogether, along with the value of the content investments they’ve already made.
Research Shows Better Discovery Gets Better Results
For more than 25 years, TiVo has helped audiences find what to watch next, evolving our approach as entertainment has moved from linear television to an increasingly fragmented mix of streaming, live TV, sports, FAST and digital experiences. By using data and intelligence across the viewer journey, TiVo helps entertainment platforms turn discovery into measurable business outcomes.
The results speak for themselves: when one streaming service incorporated personalized cancel-flow recommendations, 23% of cancelling subscribers continued viewing for months. For another, an automated carousel experience increased views by 168% while also eliminating the need for daily manual adjustments.*
These examples demonstrate how smarter discovery can influence engagement, viewing and retention while also improving operational efficiency.
Turning Attention to Retention
Content abundance isn’t going away. Neither is fragmentation.
Consumers will continue building their own entertainment roster across streaming services, live TV, social content, FAST channels, sports and whatever comes next. Platforms have an opportunity to embrace that choice while making it easier for audiences to navigate.
Great content gets a viewer’s attention. A great user experience gives them a reason to stick around.
That’s the art — and the science — of discovery.
Ready to turn viewer indecision into confidence? Explore how TiVo Discovery Solutions can help audiences find more of what they love while helping platforms maximize the value of the content they already have.
*Data cited from TiVo Discovery Solutions case studies. These results are based on specific implementations and may vary by platform and use case.
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