Awareness, Preferences, Perception, and Satisfaction about the Over-The-Top (OTT) Platforms/Players in Anand City, Gujarat, India

Abstract

Background: Movies and other audio and visual media have traditionally been consumed through outlets like theatres and television. The development of VHS, DVDs, Blu-rays, and disc rental services made technology readily available at home and whenever needed. Furthermore, Co-axial and fibre optic cables were used by cable television to provide the material. Direct-to-home (DTH) technology through satellite and dish communication, which offered high-quality broadcast and on-demand material straight to the consumer, emerged as another improved offering. With the advent of online streaming and Video on Demand (VoD) services, watching movies and TV shows has become more convenient. VoD refers to the streaming of video content via Over-The-Top (OTT) applications over the Internet (OTT). Any Internet-connected device, including a smartphone, smart TV, tablet, desktop computer, laptop, etc., can be used by viewers to access video content via OTT apps. Contrary to traditional media, streaming services present a variety of tales without censorship, box office, or audience restrictions. If the viewers have a reliable Internet connection, it provides a viewing experience with much-increased sound and visual quality [1]. Methodology: The article presents data obtained through personal interviews with help of a semi-structured Schedule from individual respondents of Anand city for OTT players.  The present study finds out the awareness and preferences for the purchase of OTT players and understands the perceptual map with the help of the Multi-Dimensional Scaling technique (MDS) of OTT players on different parameters like multiple devices and resolution of the video, and Price and subscription plan. This study also tries to find the out satisfaction of respondents towards different OTT players. Results: The majority of the respondents were male, belonged to the age group of 15 to 25 years, represent nuclear family, and the majority of the respondents were students by an occupation. The majority of the respondents had an income between 30k to 40k. Out of 200 respondents, most of the respondents were aware of the OTT. Friends and relatives were the most common source of awareness for OTT platforms. OTT players like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+Hotstar, YouTube Premium, MX Player, Zee 5, and Sony Liv had high awareness in the study area, and also the majority of respondents were preferring Amazon Prime, Disney+Hotstar, and Netflix for purchase because of their various services like multiple content categorization, multiple user account, and multiple subtitles, and video quality. The perceptual map also represents the perception of the respondents on the basis of different parameters like multiple devices and resolution of the video, and Price and subscription plan. Respondents were satisfied with the Quality of the video content of OTT, followed by their Multiple content and Language, Price, Downloading Speed, and multiple device support.