Indians prefer to use the internet for OTT content than online learning: Report

As internet users in India crossed the 800-million mark, over-the-top media consumption has emerged as one of the most popular use cases for internet consumption in India, while online learning is among the least popular.

Around 86% of internet users in India, or 707 million people, use the internet to consume audio video content on OTT platforms. On the contrary, just 24 million or 3% users use the internet for online learning.

About 90% of internet users are using the internet daily. On an average, users spend around 1.5 hours on the internet. These findings are a part of the ‘Internet in India 2023’ joint report by data and analytics company KANTAR and Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).

Communication and social media is the second most popular use case on the internet with more than 575 users users purchasing internet to access these services.

The report points out that users from rural India are driving all these use-cases, accounting for more than 50% of the user base for each use case.

Specifically, rural India accounts for 53% of audio-video OTT consumption, while the top 9 cities with the highest internet penetration contribute just 15% of the OTT user base. Conversely, online learning sees only 20% of its user base from rural areas, while 40% comes from the top nine internet-using cities.

Gaming has the largest contribution from rural areas, accounting for 56% of the user base.

In Urban India, 57% of internet users prefer accessing content in Indic language. Around 24% of users use Indic languages for online shopping and just 17% search the web using Indic languages. Watching videos and listening to music are the most popular activities that people enjoy in Indic languages.

Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam are the most popular Indic languages for accessing the internet in urban areas. The report attributes this popularity to the affinity of users to watch content in their local language and the extensive availability of content in these local languages.

Music streaming users are fast catching up with video OTT users with an 8% year-on-year growth in the user size of online music streaming services. The report says that more than 80% of overall OTT users have used music streaming apps in the last one year.

Goa has the highest internet penetration with 73% of the state being active internet users. Maharashtra and Kerala follow closely with 69% of the population being active internet users. Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand have the least internet penetration in India. However, Bihar and Jharkhand saw a year-on-year growth of 17% and 12% in internet users respectively.

However, 45% of Indian population still does not use the internet; 665 million users do not access internet actively. Lack of awareness, interest, affordability, accessibility, understanding, availability, and time are common barriers to internet usage in India.