The Replacement of Conventional Television by Streaming Services

Abstract

New media is opening new avenues and changing our daily lives. The increase in accessibility to Internet is changing the Indian cinema rapidly. There are multiple new technologies being used that allow the Indian audience to watch TV shows and movies on their personal gadgets. Some examples of popular Internet video content providers are Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hotstar. These platforms are quickly replacing the consumption of cable television and conventional cinema. Many companies are producing video content solely for these online platforms. Viewers can now watch latest movies, web series, short films, news or even documentaries at a time convenient to them at reasonable price with these streaming platforms. This study confirms that streaming services in India are not just replacing conventional or cable TV but also impacting the content of film and television industry. The objectives of this study aims to explore how Indian Television and Cinema are changing due to new emerging online platforms and how are viewers using these new digital platforms to watch video content. This study of video watching habits and trends was based on a survey method. The study revealed that Netflix followed by Amazon Prime and Hotstar respectively encompass the largest percent of the streaming service market in India. Some of the Indian audience uses some of these applications without paying any money. Furthermore, content is streamed for up to 2 hour daily by a large number of people and the preferred time to stream is late night. Additionally, web series are the most liked content to watch on streaming services followed by movies. English was the preferred language to stream for Indian viewers online. The use of streaming services is largely done to fulfill the function of watching ‘content on demand’. Action and comedy genre films are currently dominating the movies that are watched on the streaming services as well as conventional television. Almost all of the respondents agreed with those streaming applications are causing a change in television and film-watching habits in India, largely due to the convenience the service provides and the accessibility to international content. The study further revealed that all respondents agreed that streaming applications have a future in India. The reasons being tied equally between Internet collaboration and Internet accessibility at number one and Cost effectiveness, digital quality and smartphone penetration- all three- tied at number two. Contrary to some established reports, this study has also found evidence that the level of outreach of these given streaming platforms in India may be limited due to piracy, illicit account sharing and, lack of regional and traditional content on these platforms.