78% prefer TV for online streaming, NielsenIQ study finds

India’s affluent consumers prefer watching entertainment content on TV, typically the largest screen available at home, than on hand-held devices, despite it being a mobile-first nation insofar as digital adoption goes, a recent study has found.

More than three-fourths (78%) of the audiences said they prefer streaming online content on their TVs, either through streaming sticks, smart TVs, or set-top boxes, than on other available options such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops.

The study, conducted in December 2023 by consumer intelligence company NielsenIQ and commissioned by Amazon for TV streaming trends, is based on responses from viewers across 12 major cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad. The sample size included 800 respondents aged 25 to 45.

Besides the availability of an active broadband connection at home, people like streaming on TV also due to better video and sound quality, and the convenience of accessing a variety of content across OTT providers and online sources, the study, released on Tuesday, said.

“Online video streaming has come a long way since its inception, and so has the streaming habits of consumers. What has remained a constant is our preference to view content on the biggest screen in our homes—the television,” said Parag Gupta, director and country manager, Amazon Devices India.

Gupta’s portfolio includes Fire TV devices, which allow users to connect their non-smart TVs to the internet.

Further, the study revealed that almost 66% of respondents streamed content for five hours daily over the weekend, as opposed to less than three hours during the weekdays. Additionally, 97% preferred to stream online content on TV around dinner time, and 74% of them watched the same with family, especially spouses and children.

According to the study, comedy was the most popular genre of content watched by respondents. It was closely followed by sports, thriller, romantic, horror, international TV shows, and news in that order.

When streaming on TV, the most sought-after features according to the respondents were lag-free streaming (39%), and a wide range of OTT apps (24%). Other preferences were the availability of voice assistant for searching content and controlling smart home appliances, and the ability to stream online content and live TV shows from DTH (direct-to-home) channels on a single screen.

Gupta told Mint that consumers don’t care how the technology works, and it’s the responsibility of the service providers to make the experience seamless. “The first Fire TV stick was launched in India in 2017, and since then a lot has changed. Today, we have 2K and 4K devices, all the way to Fire TV Cube, which is the most intelligent and fastest Fire TV experience.”

The company, he said, wants to change the way customers consume entertainment content. “With the widest variety of apps, recommendation engines, universal search and voice command, we want the consumers to spend less time searching and more time watching content that they love, because spending unnecessary time searching for content isn’t the best part of the experience,” he said. LiveMint