With the online video streaming now reaching an all-time high, as the world now streams content for 6 hours and 48 minutes weekly, Indians stream content for approx. 8 hours and 33 minutes – 1 hour 45 minutes higher than the global average, a report has said.
According to the ‘State of Online Video 2019’ research report by Limelight Networks, the time spent on binge-watching is also on the rise in India, jumping more than 23 per cent from last year to an average of 2 hours and 25 minutes at a time. The report also quoted a survey that said Indians were also less apprehensive of pre-roll advertisements, with 84.8 per cent being either affirmative or neutral if the content is free.
The survey also revealed that Indians mostly watch online videos from home, followed by during travel or commuting. Since India is new to the digital bandwagon, it doesn’t come as a surprise that 89 per cent are also subscribed to cable TV. This figure was observed to be the lowest for Japan, where the subscriptions turned out to be just 39 per cent or less than half as compared to India.
The report also stated that sales of streaming devices, such as Netflix and Amazon Fire TV stick, is also gradually increasing in India. Over 27 per cent of the respondents now owns Google Chromecast and 34 per cent have been reported to have Amazon Fire TV Stick. Eighteen per cent of the respondents didn’t have any streaming device at all.
‘India is quickly opening up to the idea of online video streaming. Now, as data costs are further lowering and smartphone penetration increasing, people living even in the remotest of regions are coming under the fold of digital technology and services. It is opening new avenues for India’s content creators and aggregators to tap the burgeoning market with quality programming and seamless user experiences,’ said Ashwin Rao, Director, Sales, Limelight Networks.
Broadcast videos are bearing the brunt of smartphone adoption in India, as the users are looking towards them for their primary entertainment. Online video watching has now officially become the preferred go-to entertainment alternative for Indians. Global viewership for traditional TV remains higher than online video across every country except Singapore and India.
Also, the increasing price continues to be the primary reason why 28 per cent of the people claimed that they will cancel their cable subscription.
The ‘State of Online Video’ report is based on responses from 4,500 consumers in France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Britain, and the US aged 18 and older who watch one hour or more of online video content each week.
