Move over smartphones and tablets and every other screen-embossed gadget you own, the television is still the preferred choice for Indians when it comes to viewing lengthy content, according to a report titled ‘Global Video Insights’ compiled by the mobile on demand video service, Vuclip.
The report states that only 33 percent of smartphone users in India prefer to view long form content on their on-the-go devices, while the rest still prefer to stare at the idiot box for consuming lengthy programs.
Vuclip compared the developing markets, including India with developed markets to judge the video consumption behaviour of users. The report takes into account data received from 4600 users spread across India, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, UAE and Philippines and compared it to the viewing habits of users in four developed nations such as USA, UK, Singapore and Australia.
The video consumption habits of the Indians is unique in its own right, and the reports goes to point that most Indians, as compared to the users in developed nations who consume video content while travelling, aren’t doing the same. About 56 percent users in India as compared 46 percent users in developed countries consume video content while travelling.
Not so surprisingly a meagre 23 percent of Indians actually pay for video content, while the rest prefer downloading pirated videos. Whether they are paying for content or not, about 56 percent Indians prefer downloading videos for off-line viewing instead of streaming. The main reason as pointed in the report is that video quality is highly sought after by Indian consumers. About 52 percent stated that the video streaming quality is important. With buffering as a hindrance to video consumption, most prefer downloading for offline viewing.
When it comes to data usage, Indians still rely on mobile networks, about 65 percent of them, to connect to the internet. The rest prefer accessing the internet on their mobiles through a WiFi network. In developed markets the percentage is almost even with 51 percent preferring WiFi and 49 percent the mobile network.
In an interesting finding about 85 percent viewers in India consume short form videos, whose run time is less than ten minutes on their smartphones, whereas 71 percent opt for the laptops.
Irrespective of the device used, comedy remains the universal favourite genre in all the countries surveyed under this report. Nearly 60 percent of viewers in both developing and developed nations prefer watching videos that tickle their funny bones.
The survey has compiled the data under the four broad categories of video on demand services and looks at the preference of viewers including the content, device and mode of consumption, that is stream or download.
FEATURED IMAGE : FLICKR // CC2.0 // Sarah Reid
