"Rise of OTT Platforms: Effect of the C-19 Pandemic"

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way the Indians consumer consume entertainment. While previously cinema theatres were synonyms to hangout places and movies nowadays consumers are more interested in Netflix-n-Chill. For more than a year now, the pandemic has caused consumers to stay indoors and hence search for more adaptive ways of entertainment. This has naturally propelled the rise of the OTT platforms which were at a very nascent and struggling stage before the pandemic. Previously unknown platforms such Disney+Hotstar, Netflix, Amazon Prime etc have become households. Right from the youngest to the oldest member, these OTT platforms have something to offer to everyone. This research tries to study the rise of OTT platforms during the pandemic. It is important to know the extent of increase in the popularity of OTT platforms during pandemic to know their future scope. It is evident that since their launch OTT platforms have only observed an upward curve in their popularity and usage but, due to the pandemic there has been an exponential increase in its popularity due to the change in consumption patterns of people for entertainment through various media platforms. This research analyzes the opinions of people regarding OTT platforms, their consumption patterns, and it's comparison with cinema to see if OTT platforms were slowly taking over the most popular conventional medium of entertainment. It was found that people used OTT more than any other platforms out of TV and YouTube to pass their time or for entertainment. Most of them experienced an increase in their consumption times and were looking forward for movies to be released on OTT at the same time as in cinemas. People were also okay with watching movies on OTT rather than cinema. But for some it depended on the movie. This research has shown that there is a huge scope for OTT platforms in the future and the pandemic has played a major role in it. The research methodology used in this study is descriptive in nature. A questionnaire was administered to the relevant target group to analyze their behaviour. Basic statistical tools were used to analyze and generalize their behaviour. The target audience considered relevant for this study was between the age group of  14-45. Since, OTT platforms cater to all age segments, this particular TG was considered to be apt for the study. Apart from that, consumers belonging to this age category were also able enough to give their valuable opnion regarding the OTT platforms.