- Hotstar has emerged as the topmost preferred over-the-top (OTT) platform in the country, with more than 41 percent of the respondents picking it compared to 26 percent voting for Amazon Prime Video and 9 percent for Netflix
- As per the survey, 55 percent of the survey respondents prefer to watch the content on OTT platforms and over 85 percent of them said that they have watched at least one of the major OTT Platform in the last six months.
World’s leading entertainment service is Netflix but In India, the crown has been owned by Hotstar which is owned by Walt Disney Company. Hotstar has emerged as the topmost preferred over-the-top (OTT) platform in the country, with more than 41 percent of the respondents picking it compared to 26 percent voting for Amazon Prime Video and 9 percent for Netflix, according to a recent survey by app distribution platform MoMagic.
This is not much amusing because of Hotstar having 300 million subscribers as compared to 13 million for Amazon Prime Video and 11 million for Netflix, according to a recent RedSeer Consulting Report. The other contenders such as SonyLIV, Voot, Zee5, and Arre are fast gaining momentum.
As per the survey, 55 percent of the survey respondents prefer to watch the content on OTT platforms and over 85 percent of them said that they have watched at least one of the major OTT Platform in the last six months.
Today, the OTT platforms are making it really tough and giving a hard time to the traditional DTH operators and the reasons are the ease of availability, on-demand video service, growth in internet and smartphone market and cheap mobile data prices.
“Going ahead, the OTT is expected to get additional hold of the market thanks to gen Z, which is more inclined towards OTT,” Arun Gupta, CEO and Founder MoMAGIC Technologies.
The survey also observed that mobile phones are the most used medium for the audience to watch OTT platforms through applications due to the ease of use and dirt-cheap data prices. A huge majority of 70 percent claimed that they consume their OTT content on the mobile phone instead of television.
On a positive note, paid subscriptions are on the rise. Getting paid subscribers have been a point of major concern for both music and video streaming services and most of them have provided free services in early stage in order get a customer base. Although, survey findings indicate that “market is ready to pay for premium services given they are economically priced”. 70 percent of the respondents watch the OTT platforms after subscriptions.
Recently, after Netflix rolled out the mobile-only Rs. 199 service they saw a spike in the user base of paid subscribers.
India has become the new hot market for the OTT platforms to fight for the customers due to the fast-growing smartphone and internet market. Since streaming service is blocked in China, the most populated country, automatically making India the most viable option for the giants. Boston Consulting Group estimated that India’s OTT market will reach $5 billion by 2023 from $500 million last year.
OTT is growing at a rapid pace with the players now focussing on the smaller cities in order to tap the potential market with entering the vernacular language segment also.
