Updated PnL Slides
Gulliver SmithersMay 25th 2017
Synopsis
In the last few years as the team rolled the product out on more devices we saw that consumer consumption patterns were shifting.
VOD gained popularity by offering a consumer-driven experience on PCs and mobile but was now coming back to the living room and challenging linear TV directly via streaming devices.
The response was to overhaul the Crackle consumer experience. The underlying hypothesis was that viewers would engage more with an experience which was able to provide the best of both the linear and on-demand worlds.
Some Facts
• Premium AVOD Service
• Part of Sony Pictures TV Networks
• Live since 2007
• Live in 20 countries
• Available in English, Spanish &
Portuguese
• Wide Distribution Footprint
Crackle is a Leading US OTT player
79%
37% 34%
21%
12%
3% 2%
Netflix Hulu AmazonPrime
HBO Go/HBO Now
Crackle None Other
Share of US Millennials Who Use Select Streaming Services
SOURCE: BI Intelligence US Millennials survey, Q3 2015, n=1,500
The only non-Subscription service
The Living Room is our Natural Home
69%CTV Audience
Lots of App Downloads
Mobile 40M
Connected TV* 26M
*does not include Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV
ONLINE
MOBILE
AIRLINESMVPD
GAMING CONSOLES STREAMING CONSOLES SMART TVs
Current Distribution Footprint
Where it Started: The Legacy Version
Hypothesis Behind Always On
• Linear TV is good for serendipity and continuity
• Users don’t want to spend a lot of time looking for things
• The service should immediately engage the user in the content
• Linear scheduling techniques can work for VOD
Product Development Process
We used the process to understand what users needed and how it differed by platform
PC
Development of Always On
PC & Browser
• Search and discovery
• Lean In
• Multitasking
• Personalization/Customize
Mobile & Tablet• Personal Experience• On-the-go• Want to Share• Shorter Sessions
Connected TV• Lean Back• High Quality
AV Experience• Co-viewing• Wanted to relax
Borrowing from Neuroscience
We Build our products and user experiences for the FAST BRAIN
SLOWMEMORY
LOGIC CONTROL
FASTINSTINCTEMOTIONREACTION
User Experience Approach
• Reduce number of decision points
• Avoid asking the user to think about things
• Make it intuitive & easy
• Be respectful of the usersneed state
A Different Scheduling Strategy
Curated Multiplex Channels Provide a consistent viewing experience across platforms
DaypartsOptimize content exploitation by
segmenting the day based on audience habits
Always On Experience Drop audiences into a specific,
engaging moment within a piece of content
Daily Thematic ProgrammingLets audiences know when and
where to find content day to day
Plus Original Programming
Dramas
Movies
Comedies
Wide Range of Movies and TV Series
Drama Comedy Action
AnimeFandomThriller
Used to Create Multiplex Channels
Channels are Explicitly Scheduled
TV Drama 1S2, EP3
TV Drama 1S2, EP4
MovieDrama
TV Drama 2S2, EP1
TrailerShort Clip
MovieComedy
TV Comedy 1S4, Ep4
TV Comedy 2S2, EP6
Drama
Comedy
Users Get the Best of On Demand and Linear
TV Drama 1S2, EP3
TV Drama 1S2, EP4
MovieDrama
TV Drama 2S2, EP1
TV Drama 1S2, EP5
TV Drama 1S2, EP6
Targeted recommendations allow viewers to easily follow a series or just relax and go with the schedule
Drama
“...to recapture the serendipity of stumbling upon something good on TV…” – The Wall Street Journal
Solution: The Crackle ‘Always On’ User Experience
The Always On Experience is Echoed on Mobile
With some good results:
• Total Time Spent in the apps has increased 14%
• Visits with 25% Video Completion have increased by 40%
• Visits with 50% Video Completion have increased by 43%
• Visits with 75% Video Completion have increased by 40%
What do we know for next time?
Lesson 1: It Worked
Streams Ads Watched Minutes
Lesson 2: Users Don’t Always Like Change
User Appreciation
Time
Cool feature release 2
Cool feature release 1
Cool feature release 3
MVP
Etc.
Lesson 3: The Organization Wasn’t Ready
organizations which design systems ... are constrained to produce designs which are copies of the communication structure of these organizations— M. Conway
BuildDesign
Solution
DefineProduct and
RoadmapTest
Delivery ManagementProduct Management
Release to Live
User Experience & Design
A Change Was Required
We Reorganized
Product QA & TestUX & Design
Delivery Management
Oversight
Solution Design
Reach
Retention
Revenue
Software Engineering
We Aren’t Done Yet
This Week on Crackle..
New Advertising Approach
Continued International Expansion
Improved User Experience
Thank You