Low-cost unlimited internet plans to boost Indian OTT market: Report

New Delhi, Jan 5 : The Over-The-Top (OTT) market in India is yet to reach its true potential and low-cost unlimited internet plans along with an ever-increasing smartphone use will help OTT players tap the masses, a new report said on Thursday.

Currently, in urban India six per cent and 24 per cent population accesses Over-The-Top (OTT) on a daily and weekly basis, respectively, revealed the report titled 'Now Streaming: OTT' by research and data analytics company Chrome DM.

More than 50 per cent of the viewers still prefer TV as the first screen, it added.

"The entire internet base which is 464 million today qualifies for OTT's growth potential. However, infrastructure enhancement and low-cost unlimited internet plans are the key drivers that will exponentially help in reaching and further increasing the potential base itself," said Pankaj Krishna, founder and CEO, Chrome DM.

According to the report, the potential of 'offline' mode in India is quite high because of infrastructural issues and high cost of unlimited internet and the potential of ‘offline' mode varies with gender, age group and geography of the consumer.

It also found that more than 75 per cent of the audience prefers free services with ads as they already pay for Internet services while the rest of the population pays for the services with subscription amount varying on the basis of gender, age group and geography.

The OTT players should focus on regional content as inclination towards regional content is increasing, the report suggested.