TV Insider Is Capitalizing on the Bedlam of Streaming

If, in the last few years, you have found yourself searching the internet for information about which streaming service was carrying what shows at which time, you are not alone––and TVInsider wants to help. The publisher, the only digital property of the holding group NTVB Media, has seen a rapid uptick in traffic, revenue and email subscribers by solving a modern iteration of a classic dilemma: helping fans decide what to watch. The streaming ecosystem, once championed for its simplicity, has splintered into a patchwork of feudal domains, each releasing new material on its own unpredictable cadence, often behind a paywall. Viewers have turned to the internet for answers, and many have found their way to TVInsider, a property that NTVB Media acquired in 2015 when it purchased the rights to TV Guide Magazine, which has a circulation of 1.1 million, per the Alliance for Audited Media. (TVGuide.com, however, as of September 2020, belongs to Red Ventures––the magazine and the website split ways at the turn of 2009.) In the first quarter of 2022, TV Insider saw its revenue increase 230% year over year, according to Brian Kroski, an independent consultant who has worked with the property since 2019. And in 2021, its year-over-year revenue grew 100%. The publisher declined to share precise financial figures. Gen Z and Millennials Drive Higher Subscriber Churn Rates for US Streamers TV Insider generates about two-thirds of its revenue from programmatic advertising and the remaining third from direct buys, Kroski said. The majority of its direct advertising revenue comes from branded content it develops in-house, such as a list of the 30 best scenes in the series Outlander, and its primary clients are television brands, networks and the agencies that represent them. Traffic has also surged: TV Insider received more than 10 million page views in January, a record for the title, according to measurement firm Comscore. Since 2020, its average monthly reach has risen from 3.8 million, to 5.5 million to 9.4 million so far this year. “The pandemic, which led to this boom for television viewership, happened at the same time as streaming television really came into its own,” said editor in chief Sam Westfall. “So people have been at home looking for new content and new ways to engage with their favorite content, and we have tried to tap into that.” The rising prominence of the publisher reflects a growing consumer need for information that helps them navigate the increasingly-complex streaming ecosystem. Just as TV Guide Magazine, in its heyday, helped tens of millions of home viewers decide what to watch, sites like TV Insider and its rival, TVGuide.com, offer a digital equivalent of the analog service. And with marketers hungry for channels to reach these viewers and promote new content––especially given the ad-free environment of many streaming services––TV Insider has become valuable real estate for streaming platforms to reach viewers. Show-based newsletters TV Insider attributes much of its success to two main strategies: offering guidance and centering shows as the focal point of coverage. The full-time staff of 10, whose efforts are bolstered by the larger NTVB Media team and a fleet of freelancers, make sure that visitors to the site can easily find the practical information they are looking for: where to watch, what to watch, calendars, guest lists, etc. The editorial team also keeps individual shows as its focal point, creating pages for each show with trailers and information like release dates. This structure encourages more engagement, as modern fans tend to follow specific shows more than genres, channels or platforms, Kroski said. “We follow the premise that people are interested in television shows but not necessarily interested in television as a concept,” Kroski said. This isn't a navel-gazing industry publication––not that there is anything wrong with that––but this is a consumer utility.” The publisher offers a roster of over 70 individual show-based newsletters, which visitors sign up for in order to receive alerts when their favorite shows are written about. These newsletters boast an average open rate of 40%, according to Kroski. TV Insider also has two daily newsletters, called Worth Watching and TV Insider Daily, which have a combined 115,000 subscribers and an average open rate of 25%. A captive audience for streaming platforms in a crowded landscape The proliferation of streaming services has brought with it a new set of challenges for marketers. In an increasingly-crowded market, streaming platforms and entertainment companies need to raise their brand awareness, but the ad-free nature of the platforms makes that challenging, said David Clinch, head of global partnerships at Mather Economics. Without commercials, platforms have a difficult time exposing viewers to new content to keep them from churning, and rival services have only a limited means of reaching viewers outside of their silos. Publishers like TV Insider offer a solution for that problem, as site visitors clearly have an affinity for streaming content, making them a rich target for streaming platforms to advertise with. "The early days of pure hockey stick growth are over, even for Netflix,” Clinch said. “Unless you bring home an Oscar, your marketing efforts are going to have to be more refined. It’s not as easy as it used to be.” National CineMedia Debuts Tech Platform That Connects Brands With Moviegoers

Streaming & OTT

TV Insider Is Capitalizing on the Fractured Bedlam of Streaming

The title's revenue is up 230% as audiences search for shows

Mark Stenberg

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Mark Stenberg