A third of US adults use Universal Streaming Guides. The CEO of new market entrant Younify explains the market dynamics and the killer feature that will ensure the success of his service. Listen on to learn more.
Content discovery in the streaming world is a problem. Viewers struggle to find something to watch among all their services. This struggle has given birth to a whole new category of app: the Universal Streaming Guide. At the end of June, a new participant in the market launched from PlayOn called Younify. This week’s podcast is my conversation with the company’s CEO, Jeff Lawrence, about the new service, what makes the Universal Streaming Guide market tick, and Younify’s killer advantage.
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According to TiVo’s latest Video Trends Report, Universal Streaming Guides are already very popular with consumers. 35% of US and Canadian adults are using them, and providers such as Reelgood, JustWatch, and ScreenHits TV are helping tens of millions of viewers figure out what to watch next. So, is there really room for another participant in the market?
Jeff Lawrence, CEO of PlayOn, thinks so. In this interview with him, recorded on June 26th, he discusses why he launched Younify, how some of the app’s key features work, and what makes it the must-have guide in the category. We also discuss many of the dynamics impacting the Universal Streaming Guide market, including monetization, competition, and limitations. In other words, this interview is a great primer on the Universal Streaming Guide market. And given how important the guide is to any streaming service, it’s a must-listen episode of nScreenNoise.
About PlayOn (3:30)
PlayOn is best known for building a streaming video recorder. Now that most SVOD services allow downloads, Mr. Lawrence says the need for it has diminished (although I think that could be changing.) Younify leverages the PlayOn guide technology to provide a Universal Streaming Guide.
Younify grabs “just watched” lists from streaming services (7:00)
Plaid and Mint help people aggregate all their financial accounts into a single view, helping them plan their finances and future. Mr. Lawrence says PlayOn has taken a similar approach with Younify and streaming TV services.
Playing videos and getting to the TV (8:50)
Younify lets users play a video directly from within the app. It launches the underlying streaming service app, which automatically starts playing the selected title.
Why Younify won’t be on the TV anytime soon (11:00)
Mr. Lawrence is not optimistic about launching Younify on connected TVs. Some TV OS providers are blocking an app’s ability to launch another app to play a video. The service will support casting videos to connected TVs, but the trick-play functionality (fast-forward, rewind, pause, etc.) will vary between platforms.
Recommendations and more from apps are included in Younify (14:30)
Because Younify gathers user watch data from the services when someone logs in, it can make much better recommendations to you than other streaming guides. Other USGs rely on the user telling them what they have watched and rating titles separately from the streaming services.
How will Younify keep up with all the services available (17:00)
Younfiy supports ten streaming services and will soon add ten more. However, Mr. Lawrence explains why adding more than 20 services could be problematic.
Top FAST services will be supported soon (19:20)
Younify will soon add top FAST services like Pluto TV and Tubi. FAST services allow viewers to watch without logging in. Mr. Lawrence explains why having a login for these apps is desirable.
Younify monetization and competition (20:37)
Younify will sell aggregated viewing data to other companies. Mr. Lawrence explains why he thinks it is unlikely that TV OS providers will move to become universal streaming guides and compete with Younify and others.
The future of USGs (23:10)
Mr. Lawrence is encapsulating the ability to log in to services and grab user data into an API. He thinks the functionality is so compelling that other USGs will license the API for their apps. He also lists several new features he expects to add to Younify, including:
- Allow users to prioritize content within the app
- Ensure the supported apps are synchronized with Younify data
- Cross-service recommendation engine
- Improve the home screen experience.
