80% Of TV Viewers Ready To Adopt OTTs, Ditch DTH/Cable; Hotstar Breaks IPL Viewership Record
A new study has revealed that 8 out of 10 TV viewers are ready to ditch their existing Cable or DTH operator and adopt to the new digital age of OTTs or Over the Top Players such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar and others.
In related news, as if to confirm this study, India’s #1 OTT player: Hotstar has revealed that they have broken all previous records of viewership, during the ongoing IPL 2019.
This fact shared by Hotstar clearly proves that more and more Indians are now opting for OTT platform for consuming content, compared to traditional platforms like cable TV.
80% Of TV Users Wish To Ditch Cable/DTH, Use OTTs
Market research and analysis firm Velocity MR conducted a new survey to gauge the mood of TV users, under the new Cable TV Rules imposed by TRAI, effective April 1st.
And going by the looks of it, it seems that the majority of them are not happy.
The survey found that 80% of the users are willing to ditch their existing Cable or DTH connection and choose OTTs such as Hotstar and Netflix to consume content.
If not OTT, then they are ready to reduce the channels they opted for, as they feel that the new cable regime is expensive.
On the other hand, 50% of the users surveyed informed that TRAI’s new cable TV rules help them to reduce the costs involved, as they can now choose the channels they wish to watch. At the same time, 40% of the viewers claimed that for the same number of channels, they are now paying more money.
Jasal Shah, MD & CEO of Velocity MR said, “Meanwhile, Netflix, Hotstar, Amazon Prime and other such streaming services may be the inadvertent beneficiaries, as the move may bring in more subscribers to the OTT platforms, as the viewers could shift due to the rising subscription bills.”
If we co-relate these facts, then it shows us that most of the viewers are considering OTTs, because they feel that the new cable TV rules are expensive, and/or not as per their convenience.
Hotstar Reports Record-Breaking IPL Viewership
A record 267 million people have watched the on-going IPL 2019 on Hotstar, which makes it a new record. This viewership of 267 million has been generated within 3 weeks of IPL 2019, whereas in the last season, total of 202 million views were generated, for the entire season.
Another new record: For the Royal Challengers Bangalore v/s Mumbai Indians match, Hotstar had 12.7 million viewers, which broke their previous record of 11.2 million viewers for the India v/s New Zealand T20 match.
Hence, Hotstar has been able to churn out almost 2X views this IPL 2019, compared to last year.
Varun Narang, Chief Product Officer, Hotstar said, “The remarkable rate at which the viewership has grown over the years is testament to the audience pull that VIVO IPL enjoys. On the back of this, Hotstar continues to break records by raising the bar in reinventing the sporting experience for millions of Indians.”
We will keep you updated, as more details come in.
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