Which video streaming service is going to win amid lockdown?

The lockdown time frame has prompted a blast in the video streaming services everywhere throughout the world, with Indians getting their portion of amusement through fiction stories, suspense thrillers, K-dramas, mythological stories, legendary stories, and supernatural thrills. Compelled to remain inside by the COVID-19 lockdown, Indians are going through as long as four hours every week on gushing on video streaming platforms like Netflix, Hotstar, Amazon Prime, and Zee5.

Indian Video Streaming Wars

India’s largest video streaming service

YouTube, which already enjoys widespread popularity in India, has seen a 20.5 per cent surge in subscribers in the country. It has garnered over 300 billion views in the first quarter of 2020, growing 13 per cent since the fourth quarter of 2019, according to a joint study by Mindshare India and Vidooly (video analytics platform). More than two-thirds of YouTube viewership came from millennials in the 18-to-34 age bracket, which remains the most active group on the platform. And, over 90 per cent of video views came through mobile devices, indicating behavioural shifts in media consumption.

Disney+Hostar versus Netflix

In the midst of the COVID-19 lockdown that began from March 24, The Indian market saw the emergence of a new player as global entertainment giant Disney propelled its video streaming services in India through Hotstar, which is gotten as a part of its 21st Century Fox acquisition in 2018. Within 10 days of its launch, Disney+Hotstar earned roughly 80 lakh paid subscribers in India. From the start, this looks incredibly great. Disney+ rival Netflix apparently had 1.2 million subscribers in India in March 2019, assuming control more than three years to break the 1 million imprint since its launch in January 2016. Presently without a doubt, comparing the initial growth of Disney+ to Netflix does not even match as the former had a few substantial advantages during launch. Be that as it may, the terrible news for Netflix is that Disney+ can expand upon those points of interest and score more subscribers over the long haul.

Other initiatives by streaming services

Other gushing video streaming services in India have released similar statements, likewise encouraging free subscriptions and better parental controls to charm clients. In an announcement, ZEE5 said it had seen a more than 45 per cent ascend in paid viewership, an 80 per cent expansion in the number of new subscribers during the lockdown. The viewing time has expanded by over half with Daily Active Users (DAUs) and application downloads ascending by 15 per cent and 41 per cent, separately. The viewership on associated gadgets has likewise observed a 3X development in this period. ZEE5’s prominence has additionally taken off with the #BeCalmBeEntertained campaign, which urges watchers to remain calm and enjoy full-on entertainment by remaining at home. ZEE5 premium content is presently available to AVOD (ad-based video on demand, or free subscriptions that require viewers to watch ads) customers for free during the lockdown time frame.