Indian viewers increasingly prefer streaming movies, shows on TVs: Study

A study commissioned by Amazon has found interesting insights into the viewing habits of Indian users.

Users preferred watching on their television for many reasons, including better AV quality and ergonomics. (Pexels)

Market research firm NielsenIQ conducted a study commissioned by Amazon and it reveals details about the Indian audience’s streaming preferences. A large majority of the respondents preferred streaming online content on their TVs through streaming sticks, smart TVs and set-top boxes as opposed to watching it on their smartphones, tablets, and laptops.

The study found that 78 per cent of the respondents preferred watching shows and movies on their TVs instead of smaller screens. 66 per cent of the respondents said they streamed five hours daily over the weekend, compared to less than three hours during the weekdays. Further, 97 per cent said they preferred to stream online content on TV around dinner time. Comedy was the most popular genre of content followed by sports, thrillers, romantics, horror, international TV shows and news in that order.

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Apart from broadband internet being available at home, people also prefer streaming on TV because of better video and sound quality and the convenience of accessing a variety of content across OTT providers and online sources. They also considered TVs to be more ergonomic and this contributed to the preference.

The one feature that respondents sought out when streaming on TV was speed (38 per cent) followed by a wide range of OTT apps (24 per cent). Other preferences include the availability of a voice assistant to search for content and the ability to stream both online content and live TV from DTH channels on a single screen.