While the sharp increase in the consumption of video content over the internet (called Over-The-Top or OTT services) has found extensive space in the limelight over the recent past, the phenomenon is still largely confined to a heavily urban, young and male-dominated market. According to a recent survey and study conducted by media and communications sector tracker Counterpoint Research, India’s OTT video content market is heavily driven by urban consumers, the majority of which are from the country’s top five metros. The survey found that these five metro cities account for 55 per cent of the total OTT video platform users, while Tier-I cities cumulatively account for another 36 per cent of users.
As for the demographic spread of such consumers in the domestic market, a whopping 89 per cent of users are still below 35 years of age, thought video OTT consumption has steadily risen in older age-groups too. Another surprising factoid to be unearthed by the survey is that this market is also largely male, with 79 per cent of all users identifying as male.
This trend is reflected in the user demographic of most market leaders in the Indian market. For instance, Hotstar, which is the market leader in the Video OTT segment, has 56 per cent of users hailing from the metros. Meanwhile, foreign players - Netflix and Amazon Prime Video - are also highly consumed in the metros, with 65 per cent of their users hailing from these cities.
Among all the tier-1 cities, SonyLIV scores the highest, with 40 per cent of its users residing in such locations. Other players have significant presences in more specific markets, with one-third of ALTBalaji’s users coming from just Kolkata and young users (25-39 years) in tier-II and tier-III cities account for a whopping 59 per cent of ErosNow’s users, the highest among all video OTT platforms.
Commenting on the findings, senior analyst, Hanish Bhatia said that the trends also reflect the young demographic character of India’s population and the highly competitive market. However, the difficulty in monetising the offerings is still an issue.
“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 revolutionized overall video content consumption in India. However, 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 said.