Insights / Research / Oscars vs Audiences: Do Awards Matter to Streamers?
Research / 8th March 2024
Excitement is growing for Sunday’s Oscars ceremony, but do awards really matter to streamers?
Digital i’s Board Advisor, Ben Keen, looked into how awards ceremonies affect viewing on streaming platforms:
Considerable soft marketing power comes with the glamour of the Oscars, BAFTAs, and other awards. But what about the hard numbers?
SoDA data clearly shows a bump in last year’s viewing of All Quiet on the Western Front as it rode the wave of awards season hype. This culminated in its 2023 BAFTA Best Film win and 9 Academy Award nominations. And was followed by the relative disappointment of winning the Best International Picture Oscar rather than Best Picture.
Investing in the German-language wartime epic translated into extended viewership for Netflix. It also generated a valuable ‘halo’ dynamic, reinforcing the idea that Netflix can be a home for the world’s most creative talent.
This year, Netflix has Bradley Cooper’s Maestro in the mix for Best Picture, whilst Apple is hoping that Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon can upset favourite Oppenheimer, which just debuted on Peacock.
Further data from SoDA shows that not all SVOD viewers were convinced by some of the most recent Oscar nominees.
Many of the Oscar-nominated films experienced high levels of audience drop-off throughout their durations. On Netflix, Maestro, Pablo Larrain’s black comedy El Conde, and American Symphony all underperformed in terms of completion rates.
In contrast, Barbie, Society of the Snow and Nimona had better receptions in terms of total audiences and loyalty.
Navigating the parameters for success in streaming viewership can be like riding across the Wild West. But with more than 20 years of experience empowering the entertainment industry with the data they need to support content sales, we are experts in performance metrics.
Check out our previous insight on the metrics that contribute to series renewal. And send us a quick note if you want to know more about the Oscar-nominated films and how they performed on SVOD.
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