How To Supercharge Media Discovery In 2023

Entertainment fans today are spoiled for choice like no previous period in history. The rise of OTT platforms – meaning 'Over-the-top' – such as Netflix, have ushered in an entirely new way of thinking about how we access and consume content.

In the past, if you wanted to watch a show like the classic sitcom Friends, you had several options available to you. For one, you could tune into a syndicated channel that frequently airs reruns of it. If you're consistent enough, or committed to saving any showings you miss, you could very well end up watching every episode in sequence, as intended.

But anyone with firsthand experience of this knows it seldom goes so smoothly, not least because many channels will prefer to air reruns of popular episodes, eschewing any commitment to preserving the overarching narratives of the series intact.

That left one solid option for the completionists – buying, or renting, the show in massive VHS and DVD box sets. But this was expensive, not to mention it took up a lot of space. When Netflix, one of the leading providers of rental box sets in the 00s, pivoted to streaming content in 2007, they tore up the rulebook. Larger rivals Blockbuster, who were resting on their laurels, failed to see the writing on the wall and would end up filing for bankruptcy in 2014.

Nowadays, if someone wants to watch Friends, or any other show, movie, or even game, they can simply subscribe to the relevant OTT provider and binge to their heart's delight. Now we have an entirely different problem to contend with – that of too much choice.

Leading platforms like Disney+ must continue to create new content at a steady pace in order to retain subscribers. Unfortunately, naturally, most of this output will not be of high quality.

This raises the very real question of how can one go about discovering new media in 2023 that is truly worth your precious time and money. Fortunately, there are several options available to the pioneering participant, let's take a look at these below.

JustWatch

While there are several apps and websites out there that aim to be your all-in-one streaming guide, none come close to the functionality and performance of JustWatch. With the ability to provide watch lists, you can track your shows and get notified of new seasons for them when they drop.

JustWatch also employs a handy trending feature that lets you quickly see which shows are causing a stir, ensuring you'll always have a hunch as to what to watch next.

Metacritic

Metacritic is a uniquely powerful review aggregator. This is because it exclusively ranks and determines its final media scores from only the most trusted, verified and respected critics and publications we have today.

This means that its ranking can provide viewers with a solid, near-objective rundown of the shows and movies worth watching. What's more, Metacritic also covers video games. This art form, which has come of age in recent years, is home to genuinely powerful and compelling productions that are more than worth trying out.

A quick glance at their top rankings shows that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the sequel to 2017's award-winning Breath of the Wild, is considered the best game release to date this year, with an average review score of 96.

While Metacritic is a great resource for covering triple-A game titles, there are certain sectors that it fails to factor in. For example, today online casinos and slot titles make up the most popular game genres played around the world.

What's more, this sector faces the same nature of challenge as the other content streams we're exploring here – there's simply so much choice it can be difficult to know how to proceed. Fortunately, reputable platforms such as CasinoReviews.com exist to connect users with authoritative reviews of recommended online casinos, enabling discerning table gamers to cut through the noise.

LetterBoxd

Whereas IMDb is undoubtedly the biggest and most comprehensive movie database online. LetterBoxd pitches itself as a social network for movie lovers.

Users can create and share watch lists curated to specific moods, genres or periods. This can prove incredibly useful if you're fond of a specific movie and want recommendations matching its tone.