Online Streaming Traffic Sees 55% Surge During Lockdown, Says Report

Online Streaming Traffic Sees 55% Surge During Lockdown, Reveals Report

SUMMARY

Average downloads and uploads per-users per-month have surged by 66% and 37% respectively

India recently crossed 500 Mn Internet users, with more traffic coming from rural areas

Currently homegrown platforms Hotstar and Gaana are dominating streaming market, as per reports

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During the third phase of lockdown, over-the-top (OTT) media services have come in handy. According to the ‘State of Internet Traffic Trend’ report by ACT Fibernet, India saw a 55% hike in overall streaming traffic. Interestingly, unlike pre-Covid times, there is no significant difference in traffic during the weekdays and weekends. On the contrary, the platforms are noting a much greater hike on the weekdays.

The report highlights that there is a 73% hike on weekdays and a 65% increase during the weekend. Meanwhile, capitalising on the lockdown and social distancing norms, Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar starrer Laxmmi Bomb will be released on homegrown streaming platform Hotstar in June.

The data highlighted in the report is measured from February to April 2020 across 19 cities. The report added that India has noted a 40% hike in internet peak traffic, 66% surge in downloads per user per month, and 37% increase in average uploads per user per month.

Overall Metrics For Streaming Platforms

Talking about the overall numbers of video streaming platforms, a Wall Street Journal report citing data from IHS Markit, published last year, had highlighted that Hotstar has 3 Mn paid subscribers and 300 Mn, and is the biggest online streaming platform in India. It is followed by Jeff Bezos-led Amazon Prime with 2.5 Mn Indian subscribers and Netflix comes third with 1.2 Mn Indian subscribers.

Meanwhile, OTT Audience Measurement Insights has highlighted that Gaana has emerged as the biggest music streaming platform in India with control of over 30% of the market in January 2020. It is followed by JioSaavan with a 24% market share and Wynk with a 15% market share.

Global music streaming giants have been trailing behind Indian players. Spotify has control over 15% of the market, whereas Google Play Music had just 10% of the market share. Apple Music, Amazon Prime Music and YouTube Music trail the pack.

Lockdown Pushes For Digital Adoption?

During the lockdown, India has also managed to cross 504 Mn internet users mark, the latest report published by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has revealed.

The report, Digital in India, curated by Nielsen has highlighted that from March 2019 to November 2019, around 30 Mn new internet users came from rural areas. Besides this, around 71 Mn users are in the age bracket of five to 11 years and use the internet on devices of family members.