Indians under 35 years account for 89 per cent of the total Indian over-the-top (OTT) video content platform users, according to Counterpoint Research’s ‘India OTT Video Content Market Consumer Survey’.
“Among young users, the age groups of 16-24 and 25-35 contributed equally to the overall market. Male users account for 79 per cent of the total users,” the research firm said on Wednesday.
Overall, the five metro cities account for 55 per cent of the total OTT video platform users, while Tier-I cities account for another 36 per cent of the users, it said.
More than 4,000 OTT users participated in the survey which was conducted across top 25 major cities across India.
The survey focused on OTT video consumer demographics, platform consumption trends, content preferences, content consumption patterns, device and network analysis, Counterpoint said.
The leaders
As per the survey, Hotstar leads the Indian OTT video content market, followed by AmazonPrime Video, SonyLIV, Netflix, Voot, Zee5, ALTBalaji and ErosNow in terms of the percentage of respondents subscribed to each platform, it said.
Production house-backed local OTT players, such as SonyLIV, Voot, Zee5, ErosNow, and ALTBalaji, are also competing with foreign players such as Amazon’s Prime Video and Netflix.
“The market remains highly focused on the ad-based model (AVOD), where advertisements drive revenues. However, subscription-based market (SVOD) continues to grow significantly,” the report said.
‘Competitive space’
Commenting on the findings, Hanish Bhatia, Senior Analyst at Counterpoint said, “India is a young country and OTT video market is a very competitive space in India at present. Platforms are focusing on price innovation, content creation an acquisition, and partnerships as the engine for growth. The low cost of mobile data and affordable smartphones have revolutionised overall video content consumption in India."
He also said that OTT platforms have struggled to register profits, creating an environment ripe for acquisitions or exits. “Having said that, new players continue to enter the market as it is expected to record double-digit growth from subscription revenues during the next five years,” he added.