The unprecedented rise in the consumption of OTT content, specifically during the lockdown period has massively contributed to the growth of the sector. Disney+Hotstar scores high on the Indian OTT video content market, with a maximum consumption of regional content on the platform from Southern India. To understand the rapidly changing content consumption patterns in Southern India, Disney+Hotstar conducted a study in Tamil Nadu (TN), Telangana, and Karnataka.
Key facts that emerged from the study include:
Chennai in Tamil Nadu leads the entertainment consumption chart with 73% viewership, followed by Coimbatore.
The report further reveals viewers’ sentiments towards Bigg Boss Tamil. 11 % of Bigg Boss Tamil season 4 viewers in the state stayed up till late to watch their favorite episodes on the app. After Tamil Nadu, the show was the most-watched in Haryana with highest consumption from Gurugram in the state.
Additionally, the streaming platform also gave its viewers the unique opportunity to use their power to vote 50 times a day exclusively on the platform, thereby becoming the ultimate game-changers to keep their favorite contestants in the house. Disney+Hotstar witnessed a sharp increase in consumer engagement by 11% since the introduction of voting on the platform in 2019 and it has increased this year as well.
Viewers of the show had to download and install the Disney+Hotstar app on their mobile phones, (Available on Android and iOS) create an account using their email id, phone number or social media account, type ‘Bigg Boss Tamil 4’ in the search bar, click on the vote icon and cast their votes to save their favorite contestant. Users had 50 votes each day, which they could either use for a single contestant or could split it among the other contestants on the list. Through this initiative, viewers were able to interact, express their opinions and vote for their favorite contestants. Furthermore, in comparison to last year, Big Boss season 4 received more number of votes from men as compared to women.
Commenting on the study, Disney+ Hotstar spokesperson, said, “There is a surge in demand for vernacular content and it is our endeavour to meet the evolving needs of consumers for diverse and engaging content. We are overwhelmed with the response from viewers in metros as well as smaller cities of South India.”
Along with Bigg Boss Tamil season 4, Disney+Hotstar’s high-quality free content library includes daily catch-up TV shows in 8 Indian languages, a vast collection of blockbuster movies, LIVE and on-demand news in 8 languages from the country’s leading news channels and comprehensive sports clips covering major sporting events, such as the IPL, BCCI cricket series, Premier League, ISL and PKL, with all the exciting action from the day available as match highlights, key individual performances and match analysis.