According to a recent survey by professional services firm Accenture, the profusion of video streaming services and clutter of information online is getting to consumers in India, with nearly seven out of ten customers expressing unhappiness with their watching experiences. Approximately 46% of those polled said they spend more than six minutes looking for anything to watch.
The report, titled Streaming’s Next Act: Aggregators to Play a Star Role in Making Consumers Happier, surveyed 6,000 consumers across North America, South America, Europe, South Africa, and Asia Pacific (including India and Japan, among others) to learn about their video content streaming preferences, beliefs, and behaviors. Fieldwork took place in October and November of 2021.
In addition to the difficulty in finding something to watch, Indian customers believe that more than 60% of the material they pay for is irrelevant to them. In addition, 81 percent of those polled in India said they desire their profile from one site could be readily shared with another provider that might provide them with better, more tailored information.
According to the survey, while the rise of streaming services has provided customers a plethora of options, it has also added to the complexity. Consumers must actively explore among platforms, displays, and menus as they embrace new services, until they locate what they’re searching for. Consumers are turned off by the fact that navigating between OTT services is like going down multiple rabbit holes, each with its own entrance and exit.
The process of navigating between these multiple services is considered “a little” to “extremely” annoying by 60 percent of users worldwide, with 69 percent in India. Consumers get more irritated when they utilize more services, according to the report. Globally, 22% of users indicated they subscribe to four or more services, compared to 33% who claimed they only subscribe to one. And the former is more likely than the latter (65% vs. 60%) to express dissatisfaction with the navigation experience.
Payments for additional services on a monthly basis are becoming increasingly problematic. In reality, many consumers are reaching their financial limit when it comes to paying for streaming services. According to the poll, 33 percent of consumers worldwide said they would “slightly” or “greatly” reduce spending on media and entertainment in the next 12 months across subscriptions and one-time purchases, with 46 percent in India.
“Until recently, the bulk of Indian OTT platforms have sought to differentiate themselves through content, with the majority of their spending going into marquee titles.” With shifting watching habits, this must adapt to include instances such as shared viewing. “These platforms must focus on strengthening user experience and product features for the next phase of development,” said Neeraj Sharma, managing director – communications, media and technology, Accenture in India, in a statement.
