RESEARCH PROJECT REPORT

On
"Factors Leading to Adoption of OTT
Platform Among Youth"

Towards partial fulfillment of Master of Business

Administration (MBA)
School of Management, Babu Banarasi Das University,
Lucknow

Guided by : Submitted by:

Dr. Rinki Verma Ekta katiyar
Associate Professor, (1170671124)
SOM, BBDU Lucknow

Session 2021-22
School of Management
Babu Banarasi Das University
Sector I, Dr. Akhilesh Das Nagar, Faizabad Road, Lucknow (U.P.) India
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude and deep regards to my guide, Dr.

Rinki Verma(Associate Professor, SOM) for her exemplary guidance, monitoring and

constant encouragement throughout the course of this thesis. The blessings help and guidance

given by her time to time shall carry me a long way in the journey of life and which I am

about to embark.

Lastly thank almighty my parents, brother, sister and faculties for their constant

encouragement without which this assignment would not be possible.

EKTA KATIYAR

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

An Over The Top platform refers to the streaming service provider that deliver contents

directly to the viewer via internet. Example- Disney+Hotstar , Jio Cinema, Netflix, Amazon

prime video many more. India is one of the fastest growing internet market. The entry of

almost 40 Video-on-Demand (VoD) companies in a span of just three years indicates the

massive potential of the industry.

Significant factors driving the growth of the VoD market in India are rising internet &

broadband penetration and declining data charges, the proliferation of internet-enabled

mobiles phones, personalization of content and pricing.

Over-The-Top (OTT) video platforms, once considered a luxury is today a commodity. In

India, there is an increasingly growing number of consumers adapting to it.

One of the biggest boosts that the OTT platforms achieved was during the pandemic period

of COVID 19, where this industry flourished many folds.ith Indian and International content,

it played an essential role in the information revolution and development.

The report actually aimed at having an idea of factors leading to the adoption of OTT

platform among youth. This report is made on the basis of the data including questionnaire

targeted on the Youth. The questionnaire survey made over 50 person, who served as the

sample of study.

The findings, analysis and discussion part, have been the soul of the report, where several

substantial things have been focused.

This is the summary where it has been intensely tried to come up with the ideas that there are

certain factors that tend to adopt the OTT platforms among youth and raise their interest

towards the online platform.

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 TABLE OF CONTENT
 Certificate
 Declaration
 Acknowledgement
 Executive Summary

SI. No. Contents Page No.

1 Introduction

2 Various OTT Platforms

3 Objectives of the study

4 Research Methodology

5 Probelm And Limitation Of Study

6 Data Analysis & Interpretations

7 Findings

8 Suggestions/Recommendations

9 Conclusion

10 Limitations

11 Bibliography

12 Appendix

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INTRODUCTION

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INTRODUCTION

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The global telecommunication industry has been undergoing a continuous change in

business and technological atmosphere, for past half century because of its dynamic

nature. From the initial stages of telegraphs and voice-telephony the telecom industry has

evolved a long way to what we are witnessing now. The telecom providers are competing

to provide the highest voice quality, data and multimedia services for everyone all around

the world that too in multi-devices. In the initial days the prime revenue sources for

telecom providers were voice and messages. When data came into the picture and the

game changing advancement like internet explosion and the introduction of cellular

mobile communication in the 1990’s occurs, there happened to be a new challenge or

opportunity for them to generate their revenue, Over-the-top services. Over-the-top or

OTT media services are online content providers which offer streaming media as a unique

product or service. The term is usually used for video on-demand platforms, but it also

includes messaging services, audio services or voice calling solutions based on internet.

Over-the-top services get around media distribution channels those are traditional like

cable television providers or telecommunication networks. If you have access to internet,

either it be a broadband connection or mobile network, you have the complete access to

the platform and the content in that. OTT media services are usually monetized through

paid subscriptions, but there are some OTT platforms which are exceptions in which they

offer in-app purchases or even sometime advertising. The OTT offers their service in

infrastructures like smart phones, smart TV, computers and even in gaming consoles. The

main factor of the OTT is that the administrative control of the content is not with the

service provider. At first Over-the-top media services were restricted to provide only

video and audio contents but now a day with the advancement in technology it has

evolved to add any type of content and services into it and became accessible on the

internet. So as it is clear that the part which internet plays in this is really important and

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the OTT service providers depend on the internet speed and the exposure to the network

for streaming there services to get to the customers. But the telecom service providers

have no administrative control or responsibility over the content or services even though

they are the providers of internet which the customers are utilizing for streaming,

watching or downloading. The fast transformation to wireless networks and the increase

of smart phones creates a vast growth in the use of OTT platforms. It has drastically

changed the market of OTT services and also it increases the use of internet, resulted in

the improved revenue earning for the telecom service providers. The feasibility for high

speed internet has created a huge opportunity for the OTT service providers and also for

the telecom service providers. The Smartphone industry over ruled the total over-the-top

market in 2017. It is expected to be at the top position during the forecast period also.

This is due to the improvement in the number in adoption of smart phones to watch,

stream or even download OTT services. Apart from all these this has also resulted in the

growth in potential market for bigger screen smart phones in the economies. Also, by the

availability and affordability of android based smart phones, it resulted in the increase in

number of users who are active in online gaming. So with the emergence of OTT the

consumer is having the independence in selecting the content to stream and also the

means of resources and platform to be used. The time and place is not a hindrance

anymore for any consumer to stream through, if they have the access to internet. And also

it is advanced to a level that the content can be downloaded and stored and could watch

later. Over the top services are trying for grip in several industry sectors, including e-

health, e-education, e-commerce, smart grids, and others. Smartphone based business is

also a promising area which is attracting importance because of the improvements in the

OTT services. New companies are coming into the OTT services market because of huge

revenue opportunity. Another emerging market trend is Omni-channel retailing, expected

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to make a decision on the market for OTT communication services. In the light of 2018

Mobile Economy report, published by GSM Association, by 2025 the penetration of

mobile internet will vary up to 61% of the total world population and 86% of the unique

subscribers. It also says that by 2025, globally the foremost electronic device will be

smart phones. These factors signify a huge market for services that are digitally delivered

and e-commerce, content and other services. Such platforms (digital) are an important

factor in the economy. Various digital platforms who have global networking have

improved their market place in different sectors. For example, Google LLC is used for

90% of all internet browsing. Face book is used for a significant market share of the

social media market. Amazon have a notable share in the online retail commotion.

Whereas Amazon Web Services have a huge share in the global cloud market.

These factors impact the overall growth of the over-the-top services market positively. As

per the study by Diffusion Group, a rising collection of virtual multichannel video

programming (MVPD’s) with about 5.5 million subscribers ended by 2017. The results

also state that the key TV network providers are to be expected to begin individual direct-

to-customer (DTC) services by 2022. This will make the subscriptions of online

streaming services almost 50 million by 2022. Also, IBM Cloud Video Report founds that

consumers likes to get their streaming service via their television such as Samsung smart

TV, roku, Blu-Ray players, Apple TV, and others. So it is clear that the market for OTT

media services is growing exponentially and also has the potential to grow tremendously

as the easy and affordable access to internet. The market is classified into “online OTT

services and managed OTT services” in accordance with the service provided. The

managed OTT services are service networks in which the service providers have the

control over the network capacity to provide. Example of managed OTT services are

IPTV, pay-TV etc. The net neutrality also has a major role in this managed OTT services.

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It is a principle which says that all internet service providers should consider internet

communication evenly and should not discriminate on the basis of user, platform, content

or website. Because of the abundance in electronic devices and the accessibility to high

speed internet, manages OTT services are expecting a stable growth in the coming years.

Especially in developing economies the market for managed OTT services are really high

as the consumers are more leaning towards this conventional OTT practices like pay-TV.

The online OTT refers to the services that that majorly depend on the open internet for the

deliverance of content. For example, video on demand, online music, online gaming, and

other online OTT services. According to the documentation by TRAI, the examples of

OTT are WhatsApp , skype, Snapchat , hike, Instagram etc and others like I Messenger,

Blackberry Messenger, Face book messenger and video on demand service providers like

Netflix, Amazon prime, Voot, Hot star etc. The expectation for the market growth is

really high because of the increasing broadband penetration and availability of high speed

internet and also apart from that one of the major factor that plays here is the huge

investments done by online OTT service providers like Netflix, Amazon Prime etc in the

infrastructure of network and also in the original content. These are more likely to

contribute for the growth in the online OTT market.

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FEATURES CONTRIBUTE TO THE GROWTH OF MARKET
 High value content for low cost- The price for purchasing the subscription into this

platform are considerably low when it is compared with other cable networks and

other digital networks. And also the content available for that price is of great quality

which makes the user tend to purchase the subscription even though Here let us list

some of the factors that make OTT services more user-friendly and also the features

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 which they are only streaming for a lesser time.

 Original content- The content is the most important factor in any entertainment

service sector. The consumers are always ready to pay more price for better content.

Now most of the OTT service providers have their own original contents which are

only available through there platforms. Netflix and Amazon prime is an example for

this because both of them have some particular original content which is not available

in any other platforms.

 Compatibility with multiple device- The compatibility with multiple device is

another important factor because now a day’s people are more concerned about

convenience. In early days to watch a movie or a show you should have a TV set

which is connected to cable or digital network. But now with the emergence of OTT

services anybody who have a subscription of the platform can access the content

using a laptop, gaming console, mobile phone etc. The only requirement is the

internet connectivity.

 When it comes to the delivery of OTT services it’s easy to deliver as the internet

based delivery system has been advanced to a great extent which results in to a

situation in which the only things consumer requires are internet connectivity and a

compatible hardware device.

 Mobile devices- The OTT applications can be downloaded to any smart phones or

tablets from a supported digital storefront. The App for Netflix, Amazon prime,

Hotstar etc are available in the digital storefront which makes the delivery easy in

your mobile device. By login into the platform by the details required you can get

access to the platform anywhere, anytime.

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 Personal computer- Most of the computer is open to have the OTT services or in

other words in supports OTT services through normal web browsing or through

desktop based apps. Whether it be a Google Chrome, Internet explorer or any other

search engine you can have access to the OTT platform through your personal

computer.

 Smart TV- Most of the latest smart TVs are already provided with the in-build

application of OTT services or even they are providing facilities to download the app

for Smart TVs. Or even in some other cases there are screen mirroring devices which

helps users to connect their TV to personal computers or even mobile devices which

help them in viewing the content in the phone in a bigger screen of TV.

 Digital Media Players- The devices like Apple TV which is a third party device

supports a range of OTT solutions.

 Videos- The most important and inevitable service is the video streaming. With the

affordable price of data and the access of high-speed internet even in rural areas, the

streaming of videos had become a part of the live. Whether it be entertainment

purposes or educational purposes the streaming of videos are getting increased in a

great pace. So video plays a main role in the content of OTT services. It can be

through subscription based platforms like Netflix, Amazon prime or paid storefronts

like iTune or it can be through YouTube which is an ad-based service.

 Audio- Even though most of the users have a vague idea about the services, which

excludes audio from OTT services. Services like internet radio and podcasts are two

best examples of OTT service as audio. Internet radio is a digital audio service which

is transmitted through internet. They are usually used in communicating information

through voice notes or talks which can’t be paused or replayed. And when it comes to

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 audio services as OTT it can also distinguish further on the basis of subscription, paid

storefront or ad-based services.

 Messaging- The messaging services which connect users directly through internet is

an example of messaging as a OTT service. It is going to bypass the traditional mobile

SMS networks. The era of text messages through SMS is almost over. Messaging

applications like Facebook, WeChat, Skype etc are the best example for applications

which have versions which connect users directly through internet. And above that

most of these messaging apps can replace or some of them can integrate with the

normal SMS services which opens a path for OTT services to be used widely for

messaging also.

 VOIP- Video calling platforms are another service that OTT providers bring forth.

VOIP which is the abbreviation of voice over internet protocol also known as IP

telephony is a method of communication of voice and multimedia through the internet

protocol devices like internet. The services like Skype, WeChat etc are the example

for VOIPs.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

 The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected almost all industries
in many ways. The OTT platforms have themselves undergone and moved to the next
stage during these times.
 Not only youth, but all age groups have increased the use of OTT platforms during
these times. The researchers have graded India as the highest and rapidly growing
OTT market in the world.
 The ease of availing worldwide entertainment is been satisfied through these
platforms which made the OTT wider acceptance.
 OTT Platform in recent years has empowered customers by providing them with a
variety of choices for their entertainment needs.

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 Users are no longer tied down to traditional mediums such as satellite cable. Surfing
through channels are now a thing of the past, and one can now make informed
decisions about what to watch.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

 This study focuses on the current degree of consumption of different OTT platforms

and also the future estimated consumption among youth.

 This would thus help in providing statistical analysis of the preference of different

customers.

 The study would also help to infer the experiences of different users of OTT platforms

and their views.

REASONS FOR GROWTH OF OTT PLATFORM

 OTT bypasses cable, broadcast, satellite television and other platforms that generally

act as a controller or distributor and enables disintermediation. The sole gateway to

consumers, in the age of traditional media, was through film distributors, theatre

runners, television networks or Multiple System Operators (MSOs). With OTT, the

content creators can interact with their audience directly through a web page or

Smartphone app. This offers the comfort of viewing movies and other entertainment

at one’s convenient time and place.

 The OTT platforms are easily accessible through the respective OTT apps available.

The OTT apps have become the most downloaded app category ahead of social

networking apps like Facebook, messaging apps like Whatsapp and e-commerce apps

like Amazon and Flipkart.

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 The accessibility of OTT content is one of the many reasons it's so popular. To stream

OTT, customers only require a high speed internet connection and a connected device

that supports apps or browsers. Mobile OTT Devices: Smart phones and tablets are

able to download OTT apps to stream on-the go.

 Another significant factor driving the rise of OTT platforms are rising Internet &

broadband penetration and declining data charges, the proliferation of internet enabled

mobile phones, personalization of content and pricing. At the end of 2019, India had

451 million monthly active Internet users, which is projected at 666.4 million by 2023

and currently has the 2nd largest population of internet users.

 Consumption of OTT platforms heavily relied on the availability of devices that are

compatible with online video viewing. The Smartphone is the preferred video

streaming device in India. In February 2019, nearly 144 million people spent a total of

362 million hours on an OTT platform as per the reports of Gevers, 2019.

 The next important factor for higher popularity of OTT platforms is the availability of

personalized content. Research by IHS Market reported that 76% of those surveyed

gave their opinion that availability localized content, and 74% opted for the quality of

dubbing and subtitles of international content as the critical decision-making factor.

IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON OTT PLATFORMS

 The COVID-19 pandemic has played a major role in the increase in viewership of

OTT platforms, as people working from home are also using OTT platforms more.

 The satisfaction level of customers have also risen due to space to watch with family,

time to use OTT platforms, the quality of content on OTT platforms and preference of

OTT platform over television.

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 As a result of these factors, according to a report by Media Partners Asia, streaming

services are estimated to have spent more than Rs 5,100 crore ($700 million) in India

during last year 2020.

 The suspension of major sports leagues around the globe was a massive blow since

sports advertisements accounted for a significant share of the revenue for these OTT

platforms.

 However, sitting in October, most major leagues have returned as a relief to both the

sports fans as well as the OTT service providers.

 As per various reports of 'research dive' the Compound annual growth rate(CAGR)

for OTT industry before the pandemic was around 16% and the CAGR post-pandemic

is expected to be over 19%. The OTT platforms have filled the void caused by people

stopping going to malls and theatres.

 Trends such as customized content delivery and personalization that encourages user

participation are expected to further fuel the growth and expansion of this segment.

With over 300 streaming service providers to choose from on an average, users have

been spoiled to expect TV-like, and near-flawless experience while watching the

streaming content. More people are subscribing to the OTT platforms during this

lockdown.

 Not only this, but government of many countries are encouraging investments into the

supporting infrastructure. The OTT is seen as a channel to push educational content,

communicate government policies as well as give a boost to local service providers

and product companies that use the OTT platform to connect with their consumers.

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UNDERSTANDING OTT
Over the top (OTT) refers to film and television content provided via a high-speed Internet

connection rather than a cable or satellite provider. Viewers who dislike paying for bundled

content are often referred to as cord cutters. The providers of these contents are referred to as

OTT platforms. Common examples of OTT platforms popular in India are Netflix, Amazon

prime, Disney+hotstar, HBO now, Sonyliv, Zee5, Voot, Eros Now etc.

GLOBAL OVERVIEW
When we think about the global scenario the OTT services is gaining more market with a

high compound annual growth rate. The expected market size for the global over the top

service is to reach $179.9 billion by 2025. And the compound annual growth rate is expected

to be 14.3% for the forecast period. OTT service providers provide the content through there

platform through the provided channel, internet. But they don’t have any control over the

planning, delivery or content of the service. After Smart phones became affordable for a

major population and also the data charges become low along with the availability of the

high-speed internet, the market of OTT media services is undergoing a rapid growth.

INDIAN OVERVIEW
Boston Consulting Group in its reports have clarified that by 2023, over the-top (OTT)

industry will reach its peak by touching valuation of $5 billion market value. As suggested by

BCG, the growth will be fuelled by key drivers that are currently witnessed in Indian market.

It includes increase in data consumption due to affordable rates by broadband as well as

mobile service providers, further penetration of smart phone users in rural India with

decreasing prices due to competition improving standard of living and habit of adopting

various services through the geographic and demographic variable.

The Over-The-Top streaming service market is at its growing rapidly now in India, as

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suggested by above mentioned report. The market is new and the chances of growth for

various platform is very high and they can utilizes various architecture to engage customers

such as subscription-based-models, advertising based-models, and transactions-based-

models.

“There are around 30 OTT apps and the researches shows that over 80% does not use more

than 3 apps, so flouting from the mess becomes the biggest challenge. But what we are seeing

is that consumers are lapping up the medium and, while India being a price-sensitive market,

many consumers are willing to pay for value,” said Kanchan Samtani, partner & director at

BCG.

Even as the market is largely advertising-led, by 2023 we are expecting 40-50 million paying

subscribers, Samtani said. It is clear that the rural population of India will be consuming OTT

platforms a lot.

The studies say that 48% of Internet users of India which is about 650 million by 2023 will be

from rural areas. With the increase in the accessibility of mobile and internet services in the

tier-3 and tier-4 cities and the rural areas, there ill a huge number of consumers of OTT who

were not even exposed to TV contents.

Also with the development of contents by the OTT which are regional based attracts a bigger

audience to the platform and it opened a major opportunity for the market. It is resulting in

the new waves of trend or increased consumption of internet which ultimately is going to

benefit the niche/regional contents created by the OTT providers.

The ‘Over the top’ (OTT) video using up in India has increasingly changed over the last year,

because of the advancements in different digital platforms and platforms which put a lot of

effort in creating content for consumers at the exact point in which they will be satisfied

about the value.

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”Market potential Growing internet penetration and data consumption is likely to help

increase digital advertisement spends in India at 30.8 per cent CAGR between 2016 and 2021

with mobile advertisement spends and social media aided digital video advertisement spends

expected to develop at 50.9 per cent and 40 per cent CAGR between 2016 and 2021

respectively” the KPMG report says.

The OTT platforms in India had become notable by the following major factors, in which

both the potential success of platforms as well as growth of the segment are benefited

together. The launch of 4G services by Reliance Jio in 2016 and following launches by other

players in the market too was point in India’s story of data inflection.

This led almost all telecom providers to provide huge offers and reduction in price of data

and also it became the prime responsibility to provide quality services.

Along with that other policies by Government of India such as 'Digital India' initiative, leads

to the increased customer base of smart phone user, also increased penetration of internet in

rural market and the method of payment via digital means and transaction also increased the

market for telecom industry to be active in rural areas also.

Because of the affordable smart phones in the market and affordable price for the data

resulted in the consumption of data more for the video streaming is also predicted to rise

exponentially in upcoming time. When a user watches videos on his/her mobile phone via an

OTT platform, they know very little that the whole digital framework based architecture that

is arranged in accordance to make sure platform data load uninterruptedly and make the

content time worthy.

The key factor which influence the success in the competitive OTT market and also which

decides the OTT providers of today is this internal infrastructure. The acceptance of digital

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network has developed from confrontation and abruption towards mass acceptance by the

general public.

Victory in this digitally enhanced world is dependent upon various variable like time variable

towards market, experience of user and the determination to innovate rapidly over the time

and transform alongside appropriate improvements having around environment. This

mandates OTT streaming platforms to understand and implement digitally enhanced answers

including techniques to forecast, control and answer to consumer’s behavior.

VARIOUS OTT PLATFORMS

MAJOR PLAYERS IN INDIAN MARKET

1. NETFLIX

Los Gatos, California based Netflix is one of the world’s most popular OTT streaming

platform which is involved in production and digital distribution of various content around

the world. Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph, founder of Netflix envisioned a company and

give it its current form.

The model of Netflix is the subscription based media providing service which offers a library

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of movies and TV shows and programs. They also have original contents which are produced

by the company itself. According to the latest reports Netflix have 182 million subscriptions

worldwide. The service of Netflix is available worldwide except in China, Syria, North

Korea and Crimea.

It have membership in the Motion Picture Association (MPA). The initial stages of Netflix

was through the business of DVDs and expanded its business into streaming industry in

2010. Also it started streaming internationally in the same year only. By 2012 they started

working on their own content creation and production. From the very first own production

series House of Cards, now Netflix have a category called Netflix original in their online

library with over 1500 hours of original series and films.

Netflix is serving in 190 countries with revenue of $20 billion and net income of $1.9 billion.

The current Chairman and CEO of Netflix is Reed Hashtings with 8600 employees

throughout worldwide. And also Netflix is listed 197th rank in fortune 500 list.

2. AMAZON PRIME

Prime video which is also marketed as Amazon prime video is a US based VOD service

provider. It’s operated and owned by Amazon. It was launched in 2006 with headquarters in

Seattle, Washington. It started in 2006 as Amazon Un box and evolved into the current

Amazon Prime. It launched worldwide on 2016 except in China, Cuba, Syria, North Korea

and Iran. Amazon Prime provides movies, series, television programs and sports related

contents for the paid subscribers.

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Along with the subscription the user is getting access to the contents in the platform and

many other extra facilities like free delivery of products from Amazon within 2 days.

It is operating in more than 200 countries with 150 million subscribers worldwide. The

revenue of Amazon prime is $14.17 billion as per the report of 2018. Jeff Bezos is the

founder CEO and president of Amazon and Amazon Prime.

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 3. DISNEY PLUS HOTSTAR

Disney plus hot star is a OTT streaming platform operated under the ownership of The Walt

Disney media Company via its subsidiary DTCI. The main objective of Disney plus hot star

was streaming contents produced by The Walt Disney Studios along with other media outlet

owned by them.

It includes Walt Disney Television, Marvel, National Geography, Star Wars, pixels etc and

now they have producing original films series. The service is available in around 20 countries

including India. The company was debuted in 2019 November in US, Canada and Netherland

and expanded into other countries.

It was extended into India on April 2020. Walt Disney via the merger with Fox was now

owning Hot star platform of streaming. They thus rebranded that platform as Disney +

Hotstar. Within the short span of time the company have 50 million subscribers. In India Hot

star have 8 million paid subscribers and are widening their market share. They are planning to

launch a new entertaining streaming service direct to consumer service, once it ends the

current agreement with Netflix.

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 4. ZEE 5

It is an Indian VOD website by Essel Group which is a subsidiary of Zee Entertainment. The

Zee5 was started for the public in a variety of contents in 12 languages on 14th February

2018.

The main focus was on regional language as well as English and Hindi as most audience use

this language for streaming. The company is headquartered in Mumbai which serves in 190+

countries.The main services of Zee5 are content screening, Film production, Film distribution

and television production. It is estimated to have 150+ million users worldwide. This is also a

subscription based platform which provides a variety of content in various languages.

The CEO of ZEE5 India is Tarun Katial. The platform has created a good number of

audience by original content as well as re-run of content created for traditional television by

essel group thus gripping audience from both dimension.

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 5. ALT BALAJI

ALT BALAJI which is a wholly owned subsidiary of BALAJI Television is an Indian VOD

which is subscription based. It was launched on April 2017.

ALT BALAJI is known with its rich original content and also other digital content. The

founder of ALT BALAJI is Ekta Kapoor. The company is headquartered in Mumbai, India.

The major productions of ALT BALAJI are Movies, Series etc. And the main services can

have listed as Filmmaking and Video-on-demand.

The website contains more than 250 hours of original content and more than 100 hours of

kid’s content. The contents are available in most of the Indian languages, mainly in Hindi,

Gujarati, Punjabi, Tamil Nadu and so on.

This is one of the cheapest subscription based website which is cost only 100 rupees for a 3-

month subscription and rupees 300 for one year. And it’s estimated that the website have 20-

27 million subscribers.

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6. VOOT

VOOT is also an Indian subscription based VOD service. It was launched in 2016 with

the language compatibility of English, Hindi, Kannada, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil

and Telugu. It is headquartered at Mumbai.

It provides services India and United Kingdom (In UK - through virgin media only).

Viacom 18 is the owner of the company. The VOOT includes programs from channel

like MTV, Nickelodeon, Colors etc. The VOOT services were optional for registration

but in 2020 they have introduced VOOT select, which is a paid subscription service in

which you can watch original contents and variety of other contents which is not

available in the normal VOOT platform.

And there are also facilities like streaming the content one day before its actual streaming

in TV for subscribed users. The VOOT have content of more than 35000 hours.

It estimated that VOOT have 55 million subscribers currently. Sudhanshu Vat who is the

CEO of Viacom18 is the CEO of VOOT.

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LITERATURE

REVIEW

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 LITERATURE REVIEW

The literature review is a written overview of major writings and other sources on a selected

topic. Sources covered in the review may include scholarly journal articles, books,

government reports, Web sites, etc. The literature review provides a description, summary

and evaluation of each source. It is usually presented as a distinct section of a graduate thesis

or dissertation

There has been constant study to determine what factors are the determinants of people

adopting a particular theory. This domain has always been a prime area of research as

successful determination on this would lead to firm analzing those factor and creating a

technology to disrupt the market. Thus there has been various research in this category. The

starting point can be traced back to Diffusion of Innovation theory (Roger, 1960). The prime

idea of this theory consider four elements in diffusion of technology, the innovation, channel

of communication, social system and time. And Rogers stated that knowledge, decision,

persuasion, decision, implementation and confirmation is diffusion process.

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THE DIFFUSION OF INNOVATION THEORY(ROGERS ,1960)

Further research in domain, the technological acceptance model was introduced by Fishben

and Ajzen in 1975. Theory of Reason Action proposes three main item namely behavioral

Intention, Subjective norm, and attitude. As per TRA behavior intention of person upon his

attitude towards act and subjective norms. As defined in TRA, “attitudes are sum of beliefs

about particular behavior weighted by evaluation of those beliefs.”

THEORY OF REASONED ACTION (FISHBEIN AND AJZEN,1975)

As defined in TRA, attitudes are summation of beliefs regarding particular behavior weighted

by evaluation of those beliefs. Also subjective norm has been defined as “influence of people

and one’s social environment on particular person behavioral intention” And Though at the

time of its publishing, it was one of the most influential theory, later it was criticized.

Following this model Ajzen in 1991 developed another model regarding technology adoption

32
following theory of reason action and termed it Theory of Planned Behavior. He added

another construct to already existing subjective norm and attitude namely perceived behavior

control. He describes self-efficacy determines people perception of ease or difficulty in

performing behavior which is of their interest.

'Digital Media: Rise of on-demand Content' a report by Deloitte - it is noted that the rise of

internet- enabled digital devices capable of supporting digitized content has led to an increase

in the use of digital content globally. In India, this trend is observed across diverse platforms

such as audio, visual, news, music etc. It mentions that an Indian youth, on an average spends

14% of their time and nearly 17% of their monthly expenditures on entertainment. An

internet content consumer in India consumes an average of 6.2 hours of content on an

everyday basis out of which 21% of the time is spent on audio-visual entertainment. A shift

in consumer attitude with regard to a favoritism for OTT content and easy access to vast

libraries at any time and place over content ownership is notable.

'Understanding adoption factors of over-the-top video services among millennial consumers'

a study by Dr. Sabyasachi Dasgupta and Dr. Priya Grover - takes note that Indian audiences

have swayedtowards OTT content and are willing to spend for easy and unlimited access to

content without a place and time limitation. It again notes the inverse impact of pricing

strategy of OTT on its popularity. Data consumption is another attribute that makes it a tough

choice for Indian viewers and so are habits and preferences for TV as a medium.

A study by Sidneyeve Matrix on 'Netflix' - observes that viewers especially youth are

becoming active curators of content than couch potatoes taking in 'whatever producers feed

them'. Supporting this paradigm shift in consumers is the need to share, stay connected and

discuss the content on social media forums. In the process of these social media transactions,

the viewers are setting new standards of expectations from producers thereby becoming an

active catalyst in the production process too

33
'New media as a change agent of Indian television and cinema' a study by Dr. Paramveer

Singh –

find that Netflix, Hotstar and Jio are most popular among Indian youth. The youth is skewed

towards free trials available on these platforms, are nocturnal viewers and prefer web series

format over films. The respondents affirm that over-the-top applications are changing media

consumption patterns in India. The shift can be attributed to convenience of service,

personalized experience and availability of global content etc. The study finds the future of

OTT in India to be promising due to increasing smart phone penetration, economic

convergence of media companies at national or international level, and quality of reception of

digital content. Also instrumental is the competitive internet data plans offered by telecom

service providers in India.

'The burgeoning digital media consumption: a challenge for traditional television and

advertising industries - an analysis' a study by Ritu Bhavsar - mentions that digital media has

become an indispensable part of everyday lives and is a prominent medium used for

gathering and disseminating information, socialization, entertainment and marketing. An

ever-increasing consumption of content via digital media effects a change in the consumer

preferences and attitudes and this transformations trend can be associated with better internet

connectivity, advanced digital devices, competitive data prices in India and the accessible,

on-the-go nature of internet media. The reports of PwC India - has similar observations that

slated a huge opportunity for OTT platforms in India. The report however states that pricing

of content can be a hindrance to the growth and suggests a revised policy to foster the OTT

market in India.

It can therefore be concluded from the literature review that the popularity of OTT is on the

rise owing to increasing smart phone penetration, competitive internet data plans offered by

Indian telecom service providers, the abundance and quality of content on these platforms

34
and the global media industry dynamics that have a sizable impact on the economic and

policy matters of OTT service providers. To add to this is the personalized nature of smart

phone media and the availability of content from around the globe. Also instrumental is the

preference of youth for free and unlimited access to content as opposed to complete content

ownership in a limited manner. Thus the consumption of the OTT platforms are thus in huge

rise especially among the youth.

35
OBJECTIVE OF THE
STUDY

36
 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
1. To measure the pattern of use of OTT platforms among youth.

2. To determine the factors influencing the use of OTT platforms.

3. To recognize popular OTT platforms & content preference of youth in OTT platforms.

4. To understand the use of OTT platforms with reference to the change in pre & post of

COVID-19 pandemic.

5. To understand the experience of using OTT platforms.

6. To make a study on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the OTT platforms

37
 RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY

38
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The study is conducted among youth aging between 18-24 which are mostly students to infer

their consumption of different OTT platforms. The study is conducted through distribution of

questionnaires online and a total of 50 responses were collected.

1. DATA SOURCE

The study has used both primary data and secondary data.

Primary data: the primary data has been collected through random sampling, from the sample

respondents through the schedule with the help of a questionnaire which was distributed

online. Primary data was collected using questionnaire.

The questionnaire consists of questions primarily addressing the research model. We used

Google form online survey platform to collect the data as this is the most used platform for

data collection used.

Questionnaire was floated to respondent through email and WhatsApp. The most important

factor for the requirement has been considered as User of the OTT streaming platform as we

want to understand the factors that has enabled and disable the users to adopt the OTT

streaming platform. For this regards we have only taken data of those respondent that are user

or have ever used the streaming platform

Secondary data: the secondary data has been collected from standard reference book and

various websites.

39
2. TOOLS USED FOR ANALYSIS: THE TOOLS FOR DATA

ANALYSIS ARE TABLES, GRAPHS AND PIE CHARTS.

3. RESEARCH DESIGN

I have used descriptive research design for this study.

Descriptive research is a study designed to depict the participants in an accurate way.

The main ways to collect this information are: Observational, defined as a viewing

and recording the participants.

Through Questionnaire and Surveys of Youths

4. TIME FRAME

The duration of the study is 30 days and during the period, the following steps were

taken.

 Objectives were set and questionnaire was finalized

 Data were collected and recorded

 Data were analyzed and interpreted

 Reports were generated

40
 PROBLEMS AND
LIMITATIONS OF STUDY

41
PROBLEMS AND LIMITATIONS
1. This study is limited to 50 respondents of which are youth. So findings and suggestions

given on the basis of the study cannot be extrapolated to the entire population.

2. The primary data collected may be biased.

3. Time and resource were the major constraints during the execution of the project.

4. The human behavior is dynamic and hence the results may not hold good for a long time.

5. Some of the respondents were not even ready to spare time with the researcher.

6. The result of the survey is totally dependent on the accuracy and authenticity provided by

the respondents.

42
DATA ANALYSIS AND
INTERPRETATION

43
 1. GENDER OF RESPONDENTS

GENDER No. of respondents % of respondents

MALE 27 54%

FEMALE 23 46%

TOTAL 50 100%

No. of respondents
MALE FEMALE

46%

54%

CHART 1

INTERPRETATION

● The primary data is collected from a total of 50 respondents

● 46% of the respondents are female

● 54% of the respondents are male

44
 2. AGE GROUP OF RESPODENTS

AGE GROUPS No. of Respondents % of Respondents

Under 18 3 6%

18-20 26 52%

21-23 18 36%

24 & above 3 6%

Total 50 100%

No. of Respondents
Under 18 18-20 21-23 24 & above

6% 6%

36%

52%

CHART 2

INTERPRETATION
● 52% of the respondents are in age group of 18-20 years
● 36% of the respondents are in age group of 21-23 years
● 6% of the respondents are aged below 18 years
● 6% of the respondents are aged 24 years & above

45
 3. OCCUPATIONAL STATUS OF RESPONDENTS

Occupational Status No. of Respondents % of Respondents

Student 39 78%
Employed 9 18%
Unemployed 2 4%
Total 50 100

No. of Respondents
Student Employed Unemployed

18%
4%

78%

CHART 3

INTERPRETATION

● The majority of the respondents are students which consists of 78%.

● 18% of the respondents are employed.

● A small margin of 4% of respondents are unemployed.

46
4. CONTENT PREFERENCE

Contents No. of responses

Movies 31
Web Series 29
Web Shows 8
News 4
Others 3
Total 75

NOTE: There are multiple responses from various respondents regarding the content
preference they wish to watch on OTT platforms.

Movies

Web Series

Web Shows
Column3

News

Others

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

CHART 4

INTERPRETATION

Out of the 50 respondents, majority of them are using OTT platforms to see movies and web
series with 31 & 29 responses respectively. 16% of respondents watch web shows on these
platforms and 8% of total respondents watch news on these platforms. There are also other
contents watched on OTT platforms like sports, interviews etc

47
5. PATTERN OF USAGE

Usage of Patterns No. of Respondents % of Respondents

Daily 6 12%

Weekly 17 34%

Occasionally 18 36%

Rarely 8 16%

Other 1 2%

Total 50 100%

Daily Weekly Occasionally Rarely Other

2%

12%
16%

34%

36%

CHART 5

INTERPRETATION

36% of the respondents use OTT platforms occasionally as per their wish. 34% of the
respondents consume OTT platforms weekly. 16% of respondents only consume the OTT
platforms very rarely. There is a group of 12% of respondents who have a daily usage of OTT
platforms. Also one of the respondent use the platform in other pattern.

48
 6.COMMENCEMENT OF USAGE

COMMENCEMENT OF No. of Respondents % of Respondents

USAGE

Below 1 year(after 26 52%

pandemic)

1-2 years 13 26%

2-3 years 5 10%

More than 3 years 6 12%

Total 50 100%

Below 1 year 1-2 years 2-3 years More than 3 years

12%

10%

52%

26%

CHART 6

INTERPRETATION

More than half, 52% of the respondents have started using OTT platforms in & below 1 year
which means after the arrival of pandemic. 26% of the respondents have been using since 1-2
years and 10% of respondents have been using OTT platforms since 2-3 years. There are 12%
of respondents who have been using the OTT for above 3 years.

49
 7. FACTORS THAT INFLUENCED OTT USAGE

Influenced Factors No. of Responses

Peer Influence 17
Social Media 24
Advertisements 10
Others 5
Total 56

Note: There are multiple responses from various respondents regarding the factors that
influenced them to use OTT Platforms.

Others

Advertisements

No. of Responses
Series 2
Series 3
Social Media

Peer Influence

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

CHART 7

INTERPRETATION

The factor that influenced 24 respondents to use OTT platforms is social media which
includes Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram etc. Peer influence is the next important factor that
influenced 17 respondents. Advertisements have influenced 10 respondents to use OTT
platforms. The other factors include various benefits of OTT platforms, newspapers,
magazines etc.

50
 8. BENEFITS OF OTT PLATFORM

Benefits No. of Responses

Flexible Usage 21
Less Costly 13
User Friendly 27
Worldwide Entertainment 14
Total 75

NOTE: There are multiple responses from various respondents regarding benefits of OTT
Platform as per their respective.

User Friendly

Flexible Usage

Worldwide Entertainment

Less Costly

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

CHART 8

INTERPRETATION

The user friendliness of the OTT platforms is the main attraction & benefit majority of the
respondents have. 21 of the respondents loved the benefit of having flexibility in the usage of
OTT platforms. 28% of the respondents are attracted with the availability of worldwide
entertainment via these platforms and 26% of total respondents likes the less costly
entertainment provided via these OTT platforms.

51
 9. NUMBER OF OTT PLATFORMS USED REGULARLY

No. of OTT Platform No. of Respondents % of Respondents

Only 1 24 48%

2 19 38%

3 6 12%

4 1 2

More than 4 Nil Nil

Total 50 100%

More than 4 4 3 2 Only 1

2%

12%

48%

38%

CHART 9

INTERPRETATION

48% of the respondents use only 1 OTT platform regularly. 38% of the respondents use 2
OTT platforms regularly. 3 OTT platforms are regularly used by 12% of the respondents.
Only 1 of the respondents is using 4 OTT platforms regularly and none of the respondents are
using more than 4 OTT platforms.

52
10. PREFERENCE OF WATCHING MOVIES ON OTT THAN THEATRES

Preference(OTT Platform) No. of Respondents % of Respondents

Always 4 8%

Never 11 22%

Rarely 15 30%

Mostly 20 40%

Total 50 100%

Mostly Rarely Never Always

8%

22%
40%

30%

CHART 10

INTERPRETATION
40% of the respondents mostly wish to watch movies on OTT than in theatres. 30% of
the respondents watch movies on OTT rarely. 22% of the respondents never wish to
watch movies on OTT than in comparison with theatres. A portion of 8% of respondents
always wish to watch movies on OTT than in theatres.

53
11. CHANGE IN USAGE OF OTT PLATFORM AFTER PANDEMIC
CHANGE IN NO. OF RESPONDENTS % OF RESPONDENTS
CONSUMPTION
Highly increased 14 28%

Increased 29 58%
Neutral 7 14%
Decreased NIL NIL
Highly Decreased NIL NIL

Total 50 100%

Highly increased Inceased Neutral Decrease Highly Decrease

14%

28%

58%

CHART 11

INTERPRETATION

86% of the respondents has increased their consumption of OTT platforms after the
arrival of pandemic. 28% of the respondents have highly increased their usage after
covid-19 pandemic. 14% of the respondents have been staying neutral on their OTT
platform usage.
The most important fact is that none of the respondents have decreased their OTT
platform consumption .

54
12. OTT EXPERIENCE RATING
RATING No. of Respondent % of Respondent
1(Least Preferred) NIL NIL
2 3 6%
3 8 16%
4 23 46%
5(Most Preferred) 16 32%
Total 50 100%

5(Most Preferred)

3 No. of Respondent
Series 2
Series 3

1(Least Preferred)

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

CHART 12

INTERPRETATION

46% of the respondents have given a rating of 4 out of 5 as their OTT experience. 32% of
the respondents were fully satisfied with their experience and they gave a 5 star rating.
16% of the respondents gave a 3 star rating and 6% of respondents weren't happy with
the experience & they gave 2 star ratings. None of the respondents made the experience
on OTT given a zero rating.

55
 13. REFERRING OF OTT PLATFORM TO OTHERS
Referring others No. of Respondents % of Respondents
Yes 23 46%
No NIL NIL
Maybe 27 54%
Total 50 100%

Yes NO Maybe

46%

54%

CHART 13

INTERPRETATION

54% of the respondents are of unspecific opinion regarding suggesting OTT platforms to
others and may depend on personal matters. Whereas other 46% of the respondents are sure
of the opinion that they would suggest OTT platforms to others. None of respondents are
wholly against suggesting OTT platforms to others.

56
 14. CHANGE IN FUTURE USAGE OF OTT

Change in future usage No. of Respondents % of Respondents

Highly increase 1 2%

Increase 22 44%

Neutral 20 40%

Decrease 7 14%

Highly Decrease Nil NIL

Total 50 100%

Highly increase Increase Neutral Decrease Highly decrease

2%

14%

44%

40%

CHART 14

INTERPRETATION

While 40% of respondents plan to stay neutral on their OTT platforms usage, 46% of the
respondent wish to increase their OTT platform consumption and 14% of respondents plan to
decrease their usage. Of those who plan to increase one of the respondents plan to highly
increase the OTT platforms consumption.

57
FINDINGS

58
BASED ON OBJECTIVES:
(i) To measure the use of OTT platforms among youth.

● There are almost an equal majority of youth who use the OTT platforms both occasionally
as well as weekly.

● Majority of the youth uses a single OTT platform regularly and the next large group of
youth uses 2 OTT platforms regularly.

(ii) To determine the factors influencing the use of OTT platforms.

● Majority of the youth are influenced by social media to use the OTT platforms followed by
the peer influence becoming the next big factor.

● User friendliness of the OTT platforms is the most influential benefit derived from the
OTT platforms followed by the flexibility in usage of these platforms.

(iii) To recognize popular OTT platforms & content preference of youth in OTT
platforms.

● Amazon Prime Video is the most popular OTT platform among youth followed by Netflix
and then Disney + Hotstar.

● Majority of the youth prefer to watch movies & web series on the OTT platforms followed
by web shows & news.

(iv) To understand TT platforms with reference to the change in pre & post of COVID-
19 pandemic.

● Majority of the youth has started using OTT platforms after the arrival of the COVID-19
pandemic and the next majority has only been using OTT for 2 years.

. ● Most of the youth have increased their consumption of OTT platforms after the
occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

(v) To understand the experience of using OTT platforms.

● Majority of the youth are highly satisfied with their experience of using OTT platforms &
only a small group has dissatisfied with their OTT experience.

● Majority of the youth mostly wish to watch movies on OTT rather than in theatres. Also
none of the youth has responded negatively for suggesting OTT to others.

(vi) To make a study on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the OTT platforms.

● The COVID-19 pandemic had a spontaneous and positive effect on the consumption of

OTT platforms by youth as most of them tend to increase their usage.

59
 ● Further the majority of the youth plans to increase their future consumption of OTT

platforms which directly signifies the positive impact of COVID-19 pandemic.

60
RECOMMENDATIONS

61
● The OTT platforms should recommend its users with new and featured content which was

received through getting the right to stream protected content, by display of attractive

banners.

● Better and effective subscription plans are to be introduced to cope up with the need for a

majority of users who are occasionally consuming OTT platforms.

● Segmentation of the user's experience are to be made from the content selection to the

payment model, all have to be finely tuned to the expectations of their respective audience

bases

● The relationship between the streaming platform and the consumers are to be strengthened

through collection of critical user feedback which would help to maintain service excellence

and retain your subscribers.

● Advertising should be made by the OTT platforms whose presence should have as minimal

an impact on the viewing experience as possible and they should be targeted to the interests

of the user seeing them.

● More attractive offers and promotions are to be made on the referral policy of the OTT

platforms which would help in more new user acquisition.

● The consumers should be made aware about the negative impact of sharing login details

with others and also implement steps for resisting the same.

● The advertisement and promotion of the contents of the OTT platforms are to be more

made in the social media as it is one of the influential factors for the consumption of youth.

● There should be more broadcasting of regional movies and programs which would give rise

to an increased number of OTT consumers.

● Freedom should be given to the consumers regarding the selection of their language and the

choosing of their preferred contents.

62
CONCLUSION

63
As India is the world's largest growing OTT industry, this momentum is utilized by the

significant increase in the introduction of new OTT players in the market and rapid changes

in providing of personalized content. Even the smaller OTT platforms are raising capital from

international investors and making a significant impact on the market.

It is quite evident that the arrival of COVID-19 pandemic has aided the OTT platforms with

the increased consumption of these by the youth and OTT becoming the most preferred

medium. The major benefits incurred from the OTT platforms are the flexibility of usage,

availability of cross-cultural & worldwide entertainment and subscription to the user-friendly

unlimited content. Also vital are factors like increasing penetration of smart phones and

availability of internet data at competitive prices in India.

Movies and web series are the most watched on OTT among the youth, which are preferred

due to the availability of the original content, which are free from censorship. The

government's plan to impose censorship on the contents of OTT platforms would have a

drastic effect, as most of the users prefer to watch original content - which are unavailable on

theatres and other platforms.

Most youth are also against the imposition of censorship. Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and

Disney+hotstar are the highest consumed OTT platforms as they satisfy their consumers with

the best quality contents and user friendliness. There is also a huge rise in the arrival of

regional OTT players in the market.

Most of the current users of the OTT platforms are quite satisfied with their experience and

majority of the consumers tend to increase their consumption of OTT in future. This trend

can be successfully explored by the different OTT platforms. The OTT will further go

through many changes and advancements to get the right model.

64
BIBLIOGRAPHY

65
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Ajzen, I. (1985). From intentions to actions: a theory of planned behaviour, in Kuhl, J. and

Beckmann, J. (Eds), Action-Control: From Cognition to Behaviour, Springer- Verlag,

Heidelberg, pp. 11-39.

2. Ajzene, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human

Decision Processes, 50(2), 179-211

https://www.tapjoy.com/resources/what-is-ott/

www.netflix,com

www.amazonprime.com

www.voot,com

www.altbalaji.com

www.zee5.com

www.hotstar.com

www.firstpost.com

www.wikipeda.com

66
QUESTIONNAIRE

67
 QUESTIONNAIRE
Name:_____________

1. Age group:

● Under 18

● 18 – 20

● 21 - 23

● 24 & above

2. Gender:

● Male

● Female

● Other:_____

3. Occupational status:

● Student

● Employed

● Unemployed

● Other:_____

4. Which of these do you usually watch on OTT platform:

● Movies

● Web series

● Web shows

● News

● Others

5. How often do you use these platforms:

● Daily

● Weekly

68
● Occasionally

● Rarely

● Other

6. Since when have you started using OTT platforms:

● Below 1 year

● 1-2 years

● 2-3 years

● More than 3 years

7.Which of these influenced you to use of OTT platform:

● Peer influence

● Social media

● Advertisements

● Others

8. For you what are the benefits of OTT platform:

● Flexible usage

● Less costly

● User friendly

● Worldwide Entertainment

● Other:_____

9. Number of OTT platforms used regularly:

 Only 1

 2

 3

 4

 More than 4

69
10. Do you prefer to watch movie on OTT than in theatres:

 Always

 Never

 Rarely

 Mostly

11. Change in your consumption of OTT platform after the pandemic:

● Highly increased

● Increased

● Neutral

● Decreased

● Highly decreased

12. Rate your experience of using OTT platforms:

 1
 2
 3
 4
 5

13. Will you refer others to use the OTT platform:

 Yes
 No
 Maybe

14.Your future usage of OTT platform:

 Highly Increase
 Increase
 Neutral
 Decrease
 Highly Decrease

70
71