79% Indians prefer bundling of OTT, Entertainment, Comm Services: Report

Indian customers show high levels of interest in a mega bundle comprising of content and communications services. This was revealed by Amdocs, a leading provider of software and services to communications and media companies, in its latest ‘Streamer 2021 Report’, which surveyed 1,000 consumers in India.

Key findings:

76% of all surveyed consumers expect to add to their current subscriptions with the most likely being video streaming services, wellness and e-Health, and eLearning services. Consumers have explored the vast array of content and services available to them, discovering that there are plenty of offerings which stretch beyond the satellite/ cable and video streaming status-quo.

Change in consumption habits: When asked how their live and on-demand consumption habits are set to change, compared to the last 12 months, over two-thirds (69%) of consumers expect the overall time they spend on this to increase in the next 6 months from the current average of 14 hours per week.

Customers are showing high levels of interest in a mega bundle comprising of content and communication services: The next generation of bundles will still allow consumers to control key aspects such as subscription management, and user settings will be controlled centrally for an added level of privacy. When thinking about the different types of bundles that would attract consumers, just under four fifths of respondents (79%) would be interested in a bundle of video streaming, entertainment, and communication services, followed by multiple video streaming services (73%), video streaming and communication services (72%).

Quality of content is a major loyalty driver – more than attractive prices: When asked what drives their loyalty to a media/ entertainment provider of any kind, respondents preferred quality of content (71%) compared to price options (45%).

Customers want to create their own content package: The call for a packaged bundle continues as most customers cite that they would prefer to create and pay for a content package that is limited to only content that they are interested in (versus paying more for access to the provider’s entire library of content). This is most likely to be the case for consumers if they can pick the content that they can access across video streaming services (69%), satellite/ cable (67%), music streaming services (61%), and gaming (55%).

Customers also cite that if they could create a ‘perfect’ bundle of their subscriptions, they would be most likely to pay more to include on-demand binge-worthy TV series (56%), all games for one specific sporting team (49%), virtual classes/training (46%) or fitness classes with a “celebrity” trainer (45%).

“The pandemic has led to an increased consumption of media and entertainment services. Availability of multiple streaming options under one roof has resonated well with the comfort levels of consumers who are confined at home and lookout for new means of entertainment. As we know that customer is the king, this is an exciting opportunity for service providers to give customers the option to bundle their services where they can access all their media and entertainment subscriptions in one place. Moreover, our research states that consumers prefer quality of content over pricing – which gives us an overview of how important bundling has become today,” said Raman Abrol, GM & Chief Commercial Officer, Amdocs Media.