Over the past few years, we have witnessed a fundamental shift in the streaming ecosystem and in how audiences consume entertainment . Streaming began as a revolution: no more being at the mercy of fixed TV schedules, and the freedom to watch what you want, whenever and wherever you want. It completely changed our relationship with content and, in turn, consumer behaviour.
But streaming itself has evolved. Today, audiences are busier than ever, with increasingly limited time and smaller windows in which to sit down and watch. The challenge for streaming providers is therefore no longer only about having the right content available; it is also about making it easy for audiences to quickly find something that feels relevant to them and fits the time they have, when they are actually ready to watch.
A recent Nielsen/Gracenote study found that consumers surveyed spend an average of 14 minutes deciding what to watch. When viewers can’t quickly find something they want, the consequences can be significant. The same research found that 19 per cent of people will abandon a viewing session if their search is unsuccessful, rising to 29 per cent among 18–24 year-olds. Almost half (49 per cent ) say difficulty finding something to watch could lead them to cancel a service.
At OSN+, we recently looked at how long it takes our users across MENA to find something they want to watch. Against that global backdrop, our own H1 2026 platform data across MENA shows OSN+ users reach playback, on average, 4 minutes and 21 seconds from the start of a session. That insight became the starting point for our new Shortcut to Play campaign, built around a simple idea: audiences should spend less time searching and more time watching.
The two datasets are not directly comparable, nor can the difference be attributed to any single feature or intervention. But the 4 minutes and 21 seconds gives us an interesting behavioural signal, and an opportunity to ask a broader question: what does good content discovery actually require?
For us, great discovery sits at the intersection of content, technology, curation, listening to consumers and brand trust.
We combine first-party behavioural data, consumer insight, cultural understanding and years of regional viewing knowledge to inform what we acquire, how we release it and how content is surfaced and communicated. Discovery is not driven by algorithms and recommendations alone. Intuitive UX/UI, editorial curation and making it easier for audiences to recognise something relevant to them all play a role.
This is why breadth, relevance and curation need to work hand in hand. Content remains fundamental, and audiences expect a strong and varied catalogue. Breadth gives audiences choice; deliberate curation, regional understanding and intuitive discovery help them navigate that choice and find what is most relevant to them.
We bring together some of the world’s most recognisable series, films and franchises alongside regional stories that resonate with audiences here, all under a consistent proposition centred on quality entertainment.
That requires understanding audiences not only through what they watch, but why they watch it. Years of regional knowledge, first-party behavioural data and cultural insight allow us to understand how preferences differ, how viewing habits evolve and where relevance can make discovery easier. That understanding informs the experience well beyond content acquisition alone.
Ultimately, grea…