According to the latest report on OTT (Over-the-Top) viewership in India for 2024, there are currently 547.3 million people watching online video content. This means 38.4% of the population is using OTT platforms.
The growth of 13.8% in the number of viewers from 2023 is mainly due to the advertising video-on-demand (AVOD) sector (platforms like YouTube), which saw a rise of 21%.
In contrast, the subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) segment actually decreased by 2%. That means YouTube has emerged as the king of OTT.
The industry experts pointed out that the growth rate for OTT platforms has been steady at around 13% since the pandemic.
However, this year’s report emphasizes that the increase is largely thanks to AVOD viewers, many of whom are new and primarily watch content on YouTube and social media.
The stagnation in SVOD subscriptions reflects a trend where free content is attracting viewers, especially in smaller towns and rural areas.
The report considers anyone who watched at least one online video (either free or paid) in the past month. It was based on a survey of 12,000 people from both urban and rural areas.
The research also examined viewing habits based on gender, age, and location, as well as the devices people use to watch content.
India has 99.6 million active paid OTT subscriptions, similar to last year.
However, the average number of platforms each paying subscriber uses has dropped from 2.8 to 2.5, indicating that people are less interested in subscribing to multiple services.
Additionally, the report reveals that 97% of the OTT audience in India prefers watching content on their smartphones. The audience using connected TVs is estimated to be around 69.7 million.
