OTT content consumption is a social activity: FLYX survey

NEW DELHI: The pandemic has been boon for the OTT (Over-The-Top) content providers. With cinema halls shut and social distancing in vogue the time spent on entertainment consumption at home has jumped and here the OTT platforms have clearly seen an accelerated adoption for their products and services. A survey conducted by FLYX, a social network platform for OTT content, revealed that there has been a spike in both purchase of OTT subscriptions and viewing hours amongst Indian users, according to a release.
Over 50% respondents of the survey shared that they have purchased new subscriptions during the pandemic. Users also revealed that there has been a 5x increase in those spending 16+ hours weekly and a 4x increase in those spending 12-16 hours weekly on OTT platforms.

The survey finds that in the midst of so many options, consumers prefer to discover new content based on recommendations. 53% of the consumers surveyed primarily discovered new content based on recommendations from friends and family while 21% made the choice based on suggestions from the platform itself.

FLYX undertook this survey in July and August 2020. The survey was conducted among 500 respondents between 18-65 years who were students, professionals, business owners and self-employed amongst others. The respondents primarily belonged to Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad, Pune and Kolkata. Of these, 56% were men and 42% were women.

The findings further showcased that the most popular category of content watched on OTT platforms is movies and web shows. And comedy and drama emerged as the top two genres that are being consumed. Identifying consumers' preferred channels, the survey said that while Amazon Prime Video was the most subscribed to platform closely followed by Netflix and then Hotstar, the most popular platform amongst subscribers was Netflix with a 60% majority.

The pandemic led restricted mobility and limited means of entertainment have resulted in more hours spent watching OTT content. Those spending 8-12 hours per week saw an over 2.5 times increase, the 12-16 hours viewers saw four-times increase and those who spent 16+ hours per week witnessed a 5X increase during lockdown. The survey unearthed that almost half of the respondents considered OTT content consumption as a social activity with friends and family.

Shashank Singh, founder & CEO, FLYX said, “the breakthrough and growth witnessed by OTT platforms has been phenomenal. Covid has moved OTT from being a niche category, into the mainstream and consumers of nearly all ages interact with video content on their platforms. Platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hotstar amongst others have seen an exponential rise in their subscriber base with India emerging as the second largest subscription television market in Asia Pacific. I believe that this trend will continue in times to come where content and cost will be the important differentiators amongst players.”

He further added, “An interesting finding from our survey is that consumers like to view recommended content.” The most interesting finding was that 62% respondents were ready to go back to the theatres post the pandemic.

FLYX is a streaming social network that helps users find what and where to watch through the use of an algorithm that focuses on aggregating reviews on content across streaming platforms from friends, family and contacts.