Founder & CEO of 43Twenty and The Streaming Wars | Entrepreneur | Connector | Chief Rap Officer
Let's clear the air. I talk a lot of smack about the MAU (Monthly Active User) metric for FAST (Free Ad Supported TV) services. I want to point out that I don’t think the MAU metric is worthless. It has its merits, most of which should be used internally... NOT to inform Wall Street or advertisers how successful your FAST service is. Companies should be using Total Viewing Time (TV), which I think we’ll start to see across the board here very soon. 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐔𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐬 (𝐌𝐀𝐔) 1. There’s no standard for what actually defines an “active user.” Using this metric as a comparison between services is like comparing apples to Porsche 911s. 2. Users don't have to watch a video to be considered “active.” I could have tried to open the Pliability app but instead clicked on Pluto TV. Now I'm counted as an active Pluto TV user even though I wasn't even trying to go to that app. 3. It’s way too easy to game MAU statistics 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐕𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 (𝐓𝐕𝐓) 1. Indicates the actual hours users engage with a service 2. It directly ties to ad inventory and revenue potential, making it a far more valuable metric If I'm wrong, let me know. #streamingwars #ott #video #media #entertainment #streaming #tv #avod #fast #svod #tvod
R. Wade Cowan
7mo
Your thought has real merit, but do you see it going down that way? Welcome to my world...
Elizabeth Parks
7mo
monthly sub are a hugely important metric ! along with a bunch of others
Senior Account Executive | Customer Success Lead | Account Management
7mo#3 for sure. MAU is too easy to manipulate. MAU should reflect actual app use by real humans. Not a script or a bot designed to log in and click around the app periodically whose purpose is to increase MAU and engage with ad content. Almost every legitimate publisher uses tools to spot when bots are downloading their apps so they don't pay their ad networks for fake traffic. But it's the publisher's call to remove them or or let them stay. And most publishers remove the bots as fast as they find them. But not all of them. The high MAU looks good when talking to advertisers. 🫣