Discovery February 7, 2026 9 min read

Content Discovery Crisis: 14 Minutes Searching, 1 in 5 Gives Up

Viewers spend 14 minutes searching for content. 18-29% give up without choosing anything. How rich metadata solves the discovery crisis.

The Content Discovery Problem

With 11 streaming services per household (7 paid, 3.8 free), finding something to watch has become a major pain point. The industry calls it the "content discovery crisis".

The Numbers

14 min
global average search time
18-29%
give up without choosing
46%
say recommendations work
40%
keep subscription >1 year

Why Recommendations Fail

📊

Incomplete metadata

Basic genre/cast isn't enough for matching viewer preferences.

🔒

Platform silos

Each service has its own recommendations, no cross-platform discovery.

📢

Promotional bias

56% of viewers say recommendations are "just promos for new shows".

🧠

Missing context

No understanding of mood, intent, or viewing context.

How Metadata Solves Discovery

Rich metadata enables effective discovery:

  • Mood tags — what emotional experience the content provides
  • Theme descriptors — beyond genre: "underdog story", "found family"
  • Audience fit — who will enjoy this content
  • Similarity vectors — "if you liked X, you'll like Y" connections

EPG Service Solution

1

Descriptive metadata

Rich descriptions, plot summaries, themes.

2

Mood & tone tags

Emotional classification for better matching.

3

Celebrity data

Cast, directors, creators for affinity.

4

Universal IDs

Cross-platform content identification.

Struggling with discovery?

EPG Service provides enriched metadata for better search relevance, recommendation algorithms, and click-through rates.

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