Tier 2 cities leading rise in OTT content consumption: GudSho study

A study undertaken by GudSho, the first OTT platform to premiere content in South Indian languages exclusively, has unveiled some interesting insights on viewership trends on their platform. This study is based on visits and searches by nearly 479,281 people across top 17 Indian cities that landed on GudSho between April and September 2021.

Some of the key findings of the study:

Demand for OTT based on Geo-demography

There is a misconception that mostly people in the Tier 1 cities consume content on OTT platforms. However, as per GudSho’s data, it receives more traction from Tier 2 cities of South India than from the Tier 1 cities. GudSho’s content is mainly viewed by consumers from Tier 2 cities like Madurai, Salem, Trichy, Virudhunagar, Nagercoil, Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Kozhikode, Thiruvanathpuram, Vijayawada, Warangal, Vishapatnam, Guntur, Hubli, Dharwad, Belgaum, and Bellary.

What do people search for on OTTs?

The most popular search terms on GudSho include ‘Mani Ratnam’ and ‘Rajinikanth’ movies. Actor Vijay is also constantly trending on the platform (‘Thalaivaa’, ‘Thamizhan’ and ‘Kadhalukku Mariyaathai’).

Another trend noticed was that if a film is telecast on TV, people tend to search for that film on OTT. For instance, when ‘Thalaivaa’ was telecast on TV, there were over 5,000 users watching that film the day after. It was the same case with Telugu films like ‘Aame’ and ‘Shakti’, which found more audience after TV telecasts.

Repeat worthy watches

Close to 50% of films on GudSho are regional language classics. No matter how old these films are, they still attract many repeat viewers. This shows that it is not just the new films that viewers are looking for; even catalogue contents help OTT platforms hold on to their viewer base.

Weekdays or Weekends?

Though people prefer consuming OTT content during the weekends, it is seen that even on weekdays, people watch movies post work hours. We see a surge in views between 7.30 pm and 11.00 pm on weekdays. The preferred genre during these timings seems to be the classic movies on GudSho. On the other hand, weekends see more traction during the mornings since evenings are typically reserved for more social activities, unless if it is a movie night with family/ friends.

Genre preferences based on age group

Viewers between the ages of 30 and 40 years seem to prefer the latest blockbuster films like ‘The Great Indian Kitchen’, ‘Aame’, and ‘Shakthi’ and Indie films like ‘Sennai’, ‘Pen Paadhi Aadai Paadhi’ and ‘Dilemma’. People between the ages of 40 and 55 years are more interested in classics like ‘Thalapathi’, ‘Kadhulukku Mariyathai’, ‘Amaidhi Padai’, ‘Mouna Ragam’ and ‘Nayakan’. The majority of audiences on OTTs prefer Adult films. On our platform, we have movies such as ‘Trisha Illana Nayanthara’ and ‘Chittakodu 2’, which are most watched.

Genre preference & duration of consumption

In general, commercial films are where big bucks are; more people want to watch a good action film or a fun entertainer. Although, when you look at the average watch time for these films, people tend to watch only a section of the film or perhaps half of the overall duration. On the other hand, classics & hard-hitting films get comparatively less traction, but watch time is on the higher side as most viewers watch three-fourth of the film.

Star power or Quality content?

Many believe that only star power can get a good reception on OTTs, which is partially true. The top actors do help a new film reach a wider audience, but the quality of content always contribute in word of mouth recommendation for a movie, eventually reaching more audience.

Lesser known, not so proven films have surprisingly worked well on GudSho. ‘Sennai’ (Tamil), ‘Pen Paadhi Aadai Paadhi’ (Tamil), ‘Suttu Pidikka Utharavu’ (Tamil), ‘July Kaatril’ (Tamil), ‘Natpuna Ennanu Theriyuma’ (Tamil), ‘Karuthukal Pathivu Sei’, ‘Papas’ (Malayalam), ‘Vrithra’ (Kannada), ‘Thallana’ (Kannada).

Some movies, which have high watch count/ low watch time, are ‘Chittakodu 2’, ‘Shakthi’, ‘Aame Mojin’, ‘Natpuna Ennanu Theriyuma’, ‘Thalaivaa’ and ‘Trisha Illana Nayanthara’.

Some movies, which have high watch time/ low watch count, are ‘The Great Indian Kitchen’, ‘Papas’, ‘Nedunaalvadai’, ‘July Kaatril’, ‘Vrithra’ and ‘Thallana’.

Speaking about the study, Sriram Manoharan, Founder & CEO, GudSho, said, “It’s been close to six months since our launch and we have noted some very interesting trends in OTT viewership. These trends highlight the ever changing landscape of Regional OTT universe. Our study shows that there has been a surge in the regional OTT content consumption and this is in line with the research report released by FICCI-EY, which states that regional language consumption on OTT platforms will cross 50% by 2025.”