Most Indians do not prefer to pay for video content and would like to download it for free, according to a survey conducted by Vuclip.
“Downloads via torrent are dominant in India as compared to download through other subscription based websites. Propensity to purchase videos is significantly higher in developed nations (52 per cent) compared to India (23 per cent),” said the survey by the premium mobile video on demand service provider.
It added that 56 per cent of Indian viewers prefer features that help them download videos for off-line viewing.
The survey noted that one-third of the users in India remove the downloaded content the same day they view it, indicating the prevalence of pseudo streaming on account of limited storage space.
The online survey had 4600 users across six developing nations (India, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, UAE and the Philippines) and four developed nations (USA, UK, Singapore and Australia).
The respondents were 18-35 years old smartphone internet users who viewed videos on their smartphones at least once a month.
It noted that video consumption while travelling is considerably higher in India (56 per cent) as compared to developed nations (46 per cent).
“Unlike developed markets wherein usage of WiFi and mobile networks for accessing mobile internet is proportionate (51 per cent and 49 per cent respectively), mobile network usage is significantly higher (65 per cent) in India. This can be attributed to lesser number of free WiFi zones,” it said.
In India, laptops are used both to stream (30 per cent) and download (70 per cent) while smart-phones are largely preferred for streaming (65 per cent) only on account of limited storage space, it observed.
“Streaming over a WiFi connection is however the most preferred on account of a better viewing experience,” it said.
Smart-phones are the most preferred device for personal video consumption in both the developed and developing markets, while PC or laptops are used more for video viewing with family and friends in India.
It pointed out that 85 per cent viewers in India consume short form video content (run time of under ten minutes) on smart-phones as against 71 per cent on laptops.
User generated content is consumed more on smart-phones (28 per cent) than on laptops (20 per cent).
