August 3rd, 2021, Sonika Choubey
Among the shows released this year, Family Man Season 2 is the most popular with two in five calling it their favorite series
The Coronavirus pandemic gave a huge boost to the booming OTT video-streaming industry in India. As consumers endured lockdowns and restrictions, digital content became a major source of entertainment as well as a platform for the industry to connect with their audiences in these unprecedented times.
YouGov’s latest study reveals that among the upcoming web series this year, Season 2 of Delhi Crime is the most awaited show by OTT platform viewers in the country (as said by 22%). The International Emmy-winning drama series enthralled viewers with its first season and we see the excitement building up for the next edition, despite the absence of an official release date.
It seems audiences are looking forward to the sequels of some of the popular shows of the past years. Along with Season 2 of Delhi Crime, viewers are also excited for the sequel of Voot’s mythological thriller Asur (20%), Kay Kay Menon’s Special Ops Season 2 (19%), Kota Factory’s Season 2 (18%), Four More Shots Please Season 3 (14%) and Little Things Season 4 (13%).
New shows like Rudra- the edge of darkness (11%) and Finding Anamika (9%) have also managed to spark interest and feature among the most awaited shows of 2021.
YouGov also asked people about the web series they enjoyed watching in 2021. Among the shows already released this year, action-thriller Family Man Season 2 (40%) emerged as the most favorite show of OTT viewers in urban India. The ever-charming Manoj Bajpayee’s performance and the engaging plot totally lived up to the expectations of fans, especially after the cliff-hanger ending of season 1.
Other series that received the appreciation and love of the audiences are Tandav (14%), Aspirants (12%), and Maharani (10%).
With a lack of entertainment choices, it is not surprising to see consumers shift to digital entertainment during the pandemic. Data suggests that a majority of respondents (59%) claim to have watched more content online than on TV in the past year.
One in ten have started exploring global (non-English) content in the past year (9%) and almost as many (11%) have begun watching regional content (non-Hindi) during this time. Roughly a fifth among those who claim to watch regional content like watching Telugu (22%) and Marathi (20%) language series. Gujarati (18%), Punjabi (17%), Tamil, and Kannada (16% each) series are also popular among people.
Language has become an important factor in determining people’s choice of content. One in eight respondents (12%) consider the language or origin of a series important when deciding what to watch on OTT platforms. Having said that, the genre of the show (22%), recommendations of family & friends (21%), and reviews and ratings (19%) are ranked higher than language as consideration factors by people.
When it comes to digital platforms, Amazon Prime (53%), Netflix (47%), and Disney Hotstar (43%) are the most preferred channels for watching Indian web shows. Even though international networks are more popular among the masses, regional platforms like Sun NXT, Aha, and Hoichoi also feature in the list, indicating the growth of regional content consumption in India.
With an interest in regional language streaming, non-Bollywood cinema is likely to come out of Covid in a better shape. Almost half of the total surveyed respondents (49%) said that they are open to watching regional movies in theatres, with younger adults between the age of 18-39 years more likely to say so than older ones of 40 years and above.
Data was collected online by YouGov Omnibus among 1009 respondents in the country between June 15th-20th, 2021 using YouGov’s panel of over 11 million people worldwide. Data is representative of the adult online population in the country.