As industry consolidation continues to expand streaming catalogs, viewers have no shortage of things to watch. But is finding something they actually want to watch getting any easier?
Hub Entertainment Research’s annual “Conquering Content” study explores the different ways viewers discover new shows and why they choose some content over others.
Among the key findings, Hub finds that viewers are having a difficult time distinguishing one streaming service from another, while still looking for better tools to help them find the specific content they want to watch.
- Some 47% of viewers say it’s hard to differentiate the unique content each streaming service offers, up from 41% last year.
- Some 56% of viewrs wish it were easier to keep track of when new movies come out on streaming services, up from 49%.
Additionally, Hub finds that older shows remain a source for new favorites, but long series need an easy way in. Thus, 24% of viewers aged 16-24 say the new favorite show they discovered this past year is a “classic” or older show — more than twice that of viewers 35+ (11%).
But older shows with a deep back catalog can potentially scare new viewers off. Three of 10 respondents say it’s “very important” to know how many episodes or seasons a show has before starting it. That rises to 40% among viewers aged 16-34.
When Hub tested different episode counts, series with high season and episode counts drew the lowest “definitely watch” interest scores.
Furthermore, personal recommendations and trailers remain more effective than streaming algorithms recommendations at helping viewers discover new favorites.
“Viewers still rely on the sources they trust most: people they know, trailers, and traditional promotions – far more than streamers’ algorithms – to find their next favorite show,” Hub notes, adding that seven in 10 new favorite shows were first discovered through someone the viewer knows (29%), a trailer or clip (21%) or an ad or promo (20%). Only 14% came from a streaming service’s recommendations.
With AI now flexing itself in the search box, what does the mean for consumers? Some 41% say they now use AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude or Google AI to help find shows. This rises to 54% among viewers aged 16-34.
Among those who use AI tools to find shows, some 57% say they work better than traditional search engines. And while Google search is still a primary way that people search for shows, some 52% of viewers say that when an AI-written summary appears at the top of a Google search, they think of it as “using AI.”
“Viewers have plenty to watch, they just need better ways to find it,” says Jason Platt Zolov, study author and Senior Consultant at Hub. “Older shows are winning over a new generation of fans, but only when it’s easy to jump in. As more viewers ask AI tools where to watch, streamers need to make sure their shows turn up in those answers, not just on their own home screens.”
These findings come from Hub’s 2026 “Conquering Content” report, based on a survey conducted among 1,601 U.S. consumers age 16-74. Interviews were completed in October 2026. This report is part of the “Hub Reports” syndicated report series.
