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Hollywood’s Coming “OS Wars”

V.P. of advertising marketing and partner solutions at Roku, Dan Robbins, who is at the center of two major issues facing the streaming industry.
Dan Robbins, V.P. of advertising marketing and partner solutions at Roku, is at the center of two major issues facing the streaming industry. Photo: Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images for The Roku Channel
Julia Alexander
May 9, 2023

I often tell clients that streaming has an object permanence problem: If you can’t find something on your smart TV, does it really exist? No, it isn’t necessarily easier to find shows on cable, which has zillions of channels that nobody watches, impossible-to-understand remote controls, and horrifically designed interfaces. But if you’re bored enough, you can scroll through your favorite channels and understand what’s available in the moment. 

Streaming, on the other hand, isn’t built for channel surfing. It’s an intent-dependent medium. You have to choose which app to open, then navigate to a specific tile or hub or category to find something to watch. Sure, streamers have gotten better at surfacing content, but there’s still dozens of apps to choose from, each with a vast oversupply of content, leading to decision paralysis and other discovery challenges.