How coronavirus pandemic has contributed to the rise of streaming services?

While the coronavirus pandemic forced people to sit at home and prohibited them from venturing out, looking for entertainment, the streaming services came to the rescue, serving content right where they are, at home on the channel they most prefer, the internet.

With most of the world's population under lockdown due to coronavirus pandemic, online streaming companies like Netflix and Amazon prime etc, have had a huge surge in their content consumption. In fact, some analysts believe the pandemic has catapulted the consumption two years ahead of its time. In a study conducted by a think tank recently suggests the major chunk of internet consumption during lockdown was into porn, streaming entertainment and gaming. It is no surprise that companies have realized that data is the new oil and they want their piece by providing content via streaming platforms, also known as over the top (OTT) platforms. This has led to many new OTT platforms mushrooming up backed by major technology and entertainment investors.

With all these OTT platforms, offering good content via subscription model, consumer is the king. Heavy investment in these platforms means the consumers gets good deals to join a certain platform, in other words competition is creating value for the consumers. Too many platforms chasing the same consumers also mean the content quality is top-notch. There has been a shift in the kind of content people have been consuming, especially in developing countries like India. Consumer in these developing countries now no longer value the typical content which people can already find on cable TV, they want distinction from the monotonous TV content, and the content that can freely depict that freedom. This has accelerated the demand for raw content that is on your face, uninhibited, uncensored. 

The global value of streaming market was around $245.3 billion in 2018. Based on a study, in 2019 a consumer used to spend around 83 minutes per day on online streaming platforms which have grown to 92 minutes in 2020. The global streaming market is predicted to reach $688.7 billion by 2024, advancing at a 19.1% CAGR during the forecast period (2019-24). A report by BARC and Nielsen estimates a 96% increase in user base and around 7% rise in average time spent on the platforms during the lockdown.

The lockdown has not only increased viewership and subscription in the already existing urban millennial population but has also made inroads into semi urban population as well among slightly older generations. This can be mapped by the sudden increase in demand of classic movies and shows on these streaming platforms. Also, smartphone usage has seen a consistent growth among these slightly older generation population. it went up by around 18% within couple of weeks of the lockdown.

Covid-19 has pushed almost every industry to evolve and change. While most of the industries continue to figure out their strategy during the pandemic and after it, the streaming platforms have become a saviour of the entertainment industry as a whole. Theatre and multiplexes cannot release movies which have been produced, now these movies are finding space on these OTT platforms and reaching millions of homes. With the increase in streaming speed via arrival of 5G technology, the industry is set to leap into the future with even better prospects.

Conclusion:

The rise of streaming services and OTT platforms have been consistent from some time now but since coronavirus pandemic disrupted our lives and forced us to stay indoors, these platforms have seen an unprecedented growth in subscription and average time spent. This can easily be explained as people stuck at home are taking refuge in streaming movies and other shows to stay entertained. The competition among these platforms have been good news for the consumers, they have been offered subscription discounts and great content. The platforms have been investing a lot of money on creating content as well, because they understand to attract customers, they cannot just rely on third party content. The entertainment industry has found great value in these platforms in their time of suffering, since theatres and multiplexes have been shut down, they are releasing their movies on these platforms and reaching millions of homes. Going forward the industry will further evolve and set new benchmarks.