NEW DELHI: A recent study by Magnite, an independent sell-side ad platform, found that the majority of Indians, or about 80%, prefer some type of advertising to entirely paid content. Despite the expansion of subscription-based video streaming services, this is the case. According to the study, four out of five streamers prefer free or partially free content to pay for an ad-free experience (one out of five), showing that there is a substantial preference for ad-supported content.
Streamers in India often employ five different services. Of the five, three are free with ads, two are paid membership services with ads, and one is a paid subscription with no ads. 60% of consumers who anticipate adding a new streaming service do so with an ad-supported content alternative. On the other hand, 43% of streamers said they had recently canceled a subscription. Having too many services or the service not providing good value for money were the most frequent causes of subscriber churn.
In September, Magnite hired research partner Dynata to interview 2,500 viewers in India who were 16 to 74 years old and reported watching at least seven hours of television or video material per week, including at least five hours of streaming video.
Advertising is typically warmly welcomed by viewers of free-to-air television, which has long been a mainstay of Indian consumer habits.. According to Gavin Buxton, general director for Asia at Magnate, “Advertising frequency and duration matter, and it’s crucial that this value exchange takes place under specific circumstances..”. Many international streaming services are becoming more amenable to the idea of combining paid membership models with advertising, according to Buxton.
A cheaper, advertising-supported plan dubbed Basic with Ads is now available in the US for $6.99 thanks to Netflix, a popular streaming provider in the US. Additionally, this grade is offered in 11 other nations: Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, and Spain. India is not yet included in the list of nations where the proposal will be implemented any time soon, though.
According to the survey, streamers in India are young, educated, and internet aware, and they reside in urban areas in families with kids. In metropolitan areas, about 75 percent of Indian adults with access to the Internet stream videos. Compared to social media, user-generated content sites like YouTube, and traditional TV, streamers spend more time watching video material online. Streamers make up 72% of Internet users in metropolitan areas (aged 16-74). 52% of them are men and 47% are women; 45% reside in Tier 1 cities, 27% in Tier 2, 8% in Tier 3, and 21% in Tier 4 cities. Streamers watch videos for a total of 66 hours every week.
Nine out of ten Indian streamers consume video material on a mobile smartphone, making it their preferred device. 88% of viewers reported having a favorable viewing experience on smartphones, which is comparable to 87% of viewers who said the same about TV displays, despite the fact that mobile demand the bulk of streamers’ attention. More content is being streamed than it was a year ago by 75%. Comedy (48%), suspense (34%), action (34%), romance (31%), science fiction (24%), and other genres are among the most popular.