NEW DELHI: The unprecedented rise in the consumption of OTT content, specifically during the lockdown period, has massively contributed to the growth of the sector. Interestingly, most of the platforms have realised and acknowledged a huge spike in content consumption and time spent from the regional markets. This has led to an expansion of their content strategy in terms of regional launches, acquisition and dubbing of other language content.
Disney+Hotstar conducted a study in Tamil Nadu (TN), Telangana, and Karnataka to understand the rapidly changing content consumption patterns in south India. The platform earlier in 2020 (in October) announced its first slate of Tamil language originals. This included feature film Mookuthi Aman, originals - LIVE Telecast, My Perfect Husband, Triples and November Story.
The platform shared that it leads the Indian OTT video content market, with maximum consumption of regional content coming from southern India.
Chennai led the entertainment consumption chart with 73 per cent viewership, followed by Coimbatore. 40 per cent viewership is dominated by female viewers on Disney+ Hotstar.
The report further revealed viewers’ sentiments towards Bigg Boss Tamil. 11 per cent of Bigg Boss Tamil season 4 viewers in the state stayed up late to watch their favourite 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 favourite contestants in the house. Disney+Hotstar witnessed a sharp increase in consumer engagement by 11 per cent since the introduction of voting on the platform in 2019 and it has increased this year as well.
The 100th episode of the reality show received maximum traction in terms of votes on the app. Furthermore, in comparison to last year, Big Boss Tamil season 4 received more votes from men as compared to women.
Interestingly, after Tamil, Hindi is the most popular language in Tamil Nadu to view content in.
Cooku with Comali is the most watched show in the state after Big Boss Tamil season 4. Evanukku Sariyana is the most watched movie, followed by Ungalukkuga Oruvan.
A 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.”
