nScreenNoise: Colin Dixon Interviews Stingray CRO, David Purdy
May 7, 2024
ITVT is pleased to present an nScreenNoise interview that Colin Dixon, Founder and Chief Analyst of nScreenMedia, conducted at TVOT SF 2024 in March.
The interview is with David Purdy, Chief Revenue Officer of Stingray.
Here are Colin’s notes on the interview:
nScreenNoise – Music Video’s Success in Teslas, FASTs
Stingray is a leader in the FAST music streaming market. The company’s CRO explains karaoke’s unexpected success in Teslas and how CTV data settles programmer arguments. Listen on for more.
Music streaming has become one of the biggest hit genres on FAST services. And Stingray Music is one of the most successful companies in the genre. I got to talk with David Purdy, Chief Revenue Officer of Stingray, at the recent TV of Tomorrow Show in San Francisco. In the interview, he explains how Stingray’s Karaoke service became a surprise hit in Teslas, why there are fewer arguments within the company about what channels to program, and why Mr. Purdy had to learn to forget his cable TV instincts in the world of connected TV streaming.
According to data insights firm Maru, FAST music channels are among the most popular genres. Nearly 2-in-5 18-34-year-olds watch them, and about 1-in-5 50-64-year-olds do, too. As of June 2023, there were 114 music-oriented channels available on US FAST services, up from 81 one year earlier. A quick look at streammetrics shows that the number of music channels has grown to 194 in the US today. Music video channels were the most numerous, with 63, 38 audio only, ten concerts, and three karaoke.
In June 2023, Stingray was the number two provider with 21 channels. Xite was number one with 23, iHeart was third with 18, and Vevo was fourth with 14. Incidentally, MTV was a very distant fifth with five channels.
So, it is fair to say that music television is a key part of the FAST success story, and Stingray is a leader in the market. One of the things the company is very proud of is the prowess of the 100 expert music programmers who craft the channels it distributes. In this interview, Mr. Purdy explains how the company uses data to resolve some of the differences in opinion between those channel programmers.
He also gives insight into the burgeoning popularity of karaoke in Teslas and how he holds out hope that FAST users can be transitioned to owned-and-operated apps.
This interview was recorded at the TV of Tomorrow Show on March 28th, 2024. It is a little noisy, but that reflects the high energy of the show. Now, on with the interview.
About Stingray (5:50)
Stingray Music is a multiplatform music service with thousands of channels across all music genres available worldwide on mobile, web, and TV. He explains how smart TV platforms have been very successful for the company.
Millions of music fans in North America, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Australia tune in to Stingray Music.
What the machine will tell us! (6:30)
Stingray is full of music experts, and there are frequent disagreements about programming, channel themes, and more. Mr. Purdy explains how, rather than argue about a format, the company uses AB testing on FAST channels to find out what works.
Karaoke in Teslas (8:10)
Mr. Purdy tells the story of how Stingray’s Karaoke channel became a hit in Tesla cars.
Why the right channel mix is critical, migrating viewers to OnO apps (9:30)
Damian Pelleccione of Revry expressed his doubts about migrating people from, say, social media to an owned-and-operated app. Mr. Purdy has similar reservations, though he remains hopeful that it can be done.
