The latest Ormax OTT Audience Report: 2024 reveals significant growth in India’s streaming landscape, with the OTT audience universe expanding to 547 million users, a 14% increase from 2023. This growth represents a penetration of 38% of the population, up from 34% the previous year. However, the report highlights that this expansion is driven by the ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) segment, which experienced a 21% rise.
In contrast, the subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) segment saw a 2% numerical decline. The number of active paid streaming subscriptions in India remains relatively stable at 99.6 million, with the average number of platforms subscribed to per paying audience member decreasing from 2.8 to 2.5 in 2024.
Smartphones continue to dominate as the primary device for streaming content consumption, with 97% of the Indian audience using them and 81% exclusively watching on smartphones. The connected TV audience base is estimated at 69.7 million.
Keerat Grewal, head of business development at Mumbai-based Ormax Media, emphasized the significant role of the AVOD segment in expanding the OTT universe. The growth is primarily driven by new entrants watching video content exclusively on YouTube and social media platforms.
These findings align with earlier observations by Ormax chief Shailesh Kapoor, who highlighted cost as a major hurdle for paid streaming services in India. Kapoor noted that Indians are not accustomed to paying for content, given the historically low cost of television in the country. The streaming market presents a dual cost structure, including data and subscription expenses, which many Indians find difficult to justify when free content is readily available on TV and YouTube.
The report, based on a sample size of 12,000 respondents from urban and rural India, provides valuable insights into the evolving digital content consumption patterns across the country. It underscores the challenges faced by subscription-based streaming services in a market where free content remains highly attractive to consumers.
