Indians embrace OTT content, mostly on mobile devices, finds survey

29th August 2019
Indians embrace  OTT content, mostly on mobile devices, finds survey

New Delhi, August 29 , 2019: Over The Top (OTT) platforms  are the preferred source of online video streaming –consumption, finds a survey conducted in India by  data science company MoMagic.
The survey “Consumer Preferences in India”, was conducted for over a period of 3 months (June -July and mid Aug 2019) with around 7,500 respondents (unique numbers), pan Indi.
55% of the respondents prefer to watch and consume content (TV Shows/Movies/Sports /Movies on OTT platforms. 41% still prefer DTH.
It is clear from the survey that disruptive OTT platforms giving a tough competition to the traditional DTH operators possibly because of its convenience, on demand video service and affordable mobile data prices.
“OTT is the way ahead with mobile becoming the be it all, however brands and marketers cannot discount the DTH. With more than 40% still preferring DTH, its still a long way to connect with the Other India and that is what presents an opportunity and market for companies to tap on. Going ahead, we expect OTT to grab additional share but DTH will continue to remain relevant.  There will be segmentation going forward; generation accustomed to DTH will continue with that where as the generation Z will be aligned to OTT,” said Arun Gupta, CEO and Founder MoMAGIC Technologies.

Hotstar is tops
Hotstar has emerged as a clear preferred online platform to watch content. 41% of them said they prefer to watch Disney owned Hotstar, followed by Amazon Prime Video at 26% and Netflix at 9%.
85% of the respondents said they have watched content at least once on the top OTT platforms in India (Hotstar, Amazon Prime, Netflix, Voot, SonyLiv, Zee5) in the last six months . 15% responded not consuming any content on the OTT platforms.
Mobile is preferred platform
70% of the respondents consumed OTT content on mobile phones, 26% said TV. (Users watched content on TV with Smart TVs, Amazon Fire TV Stick and Google Chromecast etc.). Mobile phones the most preferred medium to watch OTT platforms versus TV or a tablet due to its convenience and rock bottom mobile data prices.
31% of Indian consumers, preferred to watch original and platform exclusive content (Web Series /short films). Sports was the choice for 30%, movies at 19% and TV shows at 18%.  (Cricket world cup may have impacted the survey question to an extent as the survey was initiated during that period (June –July and continued till mid Aug 2019.
In terms of genre, 45% of the respondents preferred comedy, action at 23%, drama at 19% and horror at 13%.
69% of the respondents paid to watch content on OTT platforms indicating market (consumer) is ready for more premium services provided they are priced economically.