As many as 78 per cent of Indian viewers prefer streaming shows and movies on their televisions, with comedy being the most popular genre of content watched by respondents, according to a study conducted by consumer intelligence company NielsenIQ.
The report highlighted that on weekends, nearly 66 per cent of people binge-watched shows for five hours on TV, while weekdays saw less than 3 hours of engagement. 97 per cent favoured TV streaming at dinner, with 74 per cent enjoying it with family, including spouse and children.
The report, commissioned by Amazon, highlighted how the access to thousands of shows on various streaming platforms, including Amazon Prime and Netflix, among others, has fueled the rise of binge-watching culture. “In addition to the availability of an active broadband connection at home, people are streaming on TV due to better video and sound quality, and convenience of accessing a variety of content across OTT (over-the-top) providers and online sources,” the report said.
Comedy most watched, news least popular genre
Notably, the preference for comedy was closely followed by sports, thriller, romantic, horror, and international TV shows. The report said news was the least popular genre among viewers.
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“Online video streaming has come a long way since its inception, and so has streaming habits of consumers. What has remained a constant is our preference to view content on the biggest screen in our homes – the television…,” said Parag Gupta, Director and Country Manager, Amazon Devices India.
Netflix and Amazon have become hugely popular in India, which is set to grow into a $7 billion market for the sector by 2027, according to Media Partners Asia.
Concerns over OTT content moderation
The rise of streaming platforms, however, has also raised concerns over its content moderation in recent times. Notably, the Centre’s new Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023 seeks to expand the scope of the regulatory system from traditional services like television to OTT platforms too.
The study was conducted in December 2023 across 12 major cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore. A total of 800 respondents between the ages 25-45 years were surveyed for the study, NielsenIQ said.
