BackIndians spent more time watching online videos during April-May, global survey
As the covid-19 epidemic started to spread and people were forced to stay at home, time spent on video streaming platforms also increased considerably
PremiumPeople in India on an average spent 5 hours 16 minutes per day watching online videos during April-May. The global average was 4 hours and 3 minutes per day, shows a global survey by Limelight Networks (leading CDN service provider). The increase in online video viewing hours was also the highest in India at 85.4%. Singapore (78.4%), Japan (77%), France (76.2%), UK (75.1%), and US (73.5%) were the other countries where video viewing increased significantly.
As the covid-19 epidemic started to spread and people were forced to stay at home, time spent on video streaming platforms also increased considerably. According to the survey, 68.3% of Indians felt watching videos helped them in coping with daily activities during the lockdown period.
The demand for online videos led to an increase in user base as well as revenue for many of the leading video streaming platforms. A case in point is Netflix which added 16 million new subscribers globally in Q1 2020.
The Limelight survey found that streaming videos was not limited to entertainment and news. Live streaming for consulting doctors and to attend online classes also grew significantly in India and abroad. Around 81% of the participants from India have met or plan to meet with their doctor through online platforms. Similarly, 31.8% Indians says that they want to take up a professional development classes, while 30.1% want to learn a new language over online video.
This increased dependence on online video platforms is here to stay as many participants of the survey expressed that they will continue using them in future too. Around 86.2% of Indian said they will take online video classes even after the pandemic is under control.
Video chat became immensely popular during the lockdown period for all professionals. Around 89% of Indians used video to communicate. During April-May, many video streaming platforms had made access to their services free for schools, which boosted adoption further. Zoom reported a 50% increase in daily users in April and saw 300 million daily participants in April, as compared to 10 million in December 2019. The number of daily active users on Microsoft Teams grew by 70% to more than 75 million in a month.
Further, the survey found that 88% of the global participants stated that videos help in collaboration and also improved their efficiency. With the closure of gyms, virtual workouts offering yoga and other exercises gained a lot of traction. Among the participants, 55% had been a part of a virtual workout session or plan to do in future.
Conducted between April 29 and May 14, the Limelight survey interviewed 5,000 people aged 18 years and above in ten locations including, India, UK, US, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Scandinavia, Singapore and South Korea.
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