Consumer Viewing Habits of India in 2019

The science of today is the technology of tomorrow, as put by Edward Teller. 5 years down the lane, we would not see a vibrant change in the viewing habits of Indians but a bold and a strong modification & a continuation of what is going on in the present. Of course, science has bought half of the world into the digitalization mode. Let us view now how this viewing of TV would take us in future. Television was always our partner in crime and joy, it was a personification in the form of a mother, teacher, lover as at every point of time, it taught us something or the other from it. It continues to hold our attention for two reasons even today. Firstly because of the quality and choice of content, secondly because a huge range of interfaces have evolved to suit every taste and lifestyle of different cultures. We can easily control how and when we watch TV by creating our own TV schedules from the abundance of content available, or tuning in on a mobile device. We have more choice than ever before. Consumer viewing habits now involve so much more than just the living room TV and traditional broadcast services. Today people take their entertainment wherever they want. Digitalization took its colour, IPTV, usage of social media and Internet based connections changed the habits of all the consumers in terms of viewership (If looked from back). Now this will seek a hike in growth in the next coming years as the engrossment & engagement in it would seek more highlights. Were no longer just consumers of TV - we are becoming the masters of our own choice. 2012 was considered as the landmark year of TV for various new booms like the final switch from analogue to digital and the launch of newer services such as internet and mobile TV, this change is still continuing & would continue to exist as India would see a change in economies, lifestyle and mentality. This change in viewing points out to the consumers ideology of shifting and adapting to the fast moving technology plus in this busy hectic working lifestyle, they want the availability of content on their finger tips. According to a Kaiser Family Foundation study released in January 2010, watching regularly-scheduled TV has declined by 25 minutes. It is increased by accessing it on the Internet, cell phones and iPods. By such data in 2010, we can for surly assume that in 2019, the decline would shift even more and the usage of such services would increase incredibly. However, not to forget, our beautiful country not only holds people of likeminded on technology and economies, people below that threshold do exist & would still continue to use TV sets but would be the initial users for those services. That is, even late adopters would become advanced video/service users as years go by. (Obviously technological development adaptation doesnt happen over night!) At the most the viewing habits of the consumers would vary from person to culture to society to location. What would matter would be the receiving of the content. This is nothing but a clear cut seismic shift in consumer viewing habits. Consumers are already viewing content on the social media, internet, posting videos on social media (Netflix, You Tube Channels). Video-On-Demand (VOD) is increasingly used for relaxation viewing while linear and scheduled TV is shifting to appointment viewing. Mobile TV has mushroomed with many apps available like Zeebox, Dicto Tv, Sonyliv, Tata Sky Mobile etc. In fact, some consumer viewing content has developed their own apps like Koffee With Karan, Dance India Dance, Jhalak Dikhla Jaa. Also the explosion of connected mobile devices in the home has opened a whole new world of possibilities when it comes to viewing TV. Mobile devices make up an increasing share of TV

and video viewing. Laptops, tablets and smart phones are those mediums that may use as an alternative for viewing TV on a much higher note but still would not be able to replace the box in coming years. As per, BBC TV Licensing, there was a difference of opinion on what would dominate ahead either internet connected television might become more of a mainstream, or the trend might be towards more viewing on-the-go using mobile devices/ Tablets. For me, it would be a blend of both as just said, consumers are variables, and they keep changing as per their comfort level and preferences. A mother would still watch her favourites from the box and you and I would go on our devices for our favourites. In fact , the trend of More of catch-up to create our own TV schedule, with time-shifted or catch-up viewing accounting will be more practiced down the lane as the consumers would be more specific as they grow with intellectual brains & time control habits. Well coming to that, we all should know our love affair with TV is even stronger than we think Around two months of TV viewing, per year, has been recorded, by each individual. So as to predict, TV will serve to be the king because of its bigger better screens of majority of viewers & due to the increased advanced technological inputs added to it. This can be seen by the percentage pulled out from a consumer viewing habits survey in 2011,that 21% of consumers went for bigger TV set, connected TV & 3D TV, where 10% would use smart phone for TV viewing and 11% would buy a tablet for it. However, so as to also predict in 2019, the percentage would fall for the TV sets and seek a rise in the gadgets as already markets are now flooded with much such technology supported devices for the purpose of easy viewing. In USA, 2012, a proliferation of mobile devices, and a growing number of social media users were able to use two-screen viewing (chat about TV) is becoming more immediate and interactive than ever before. Research suggested that this widespread trend. A large number also say that chatter boxing with others is improving their viewing experience. This phenomenon is affecting what we watch, as people try new programmes as a direct result of social media buzz. With this trend set to continue globally, India may witness such a trend and TV programmers should programme accordingly to meet the growing demand for more interactive and personalised viewing experiences. Also, TV viewing habits are rapidly traversing platforms in the digital face and revealing the evolution of the Multi-Screen consumer. User-Generated Content (UGC) is becoming increasingly important. The upcoming trend that will be a spark in 2019 mostly as it will be used for entertainment, education, how-to guides and watching product reviews. In fact, 82 percent use YouTube or a similar service at least monthly. Also by lowering the cost of Ultra HD/3D TV sets and preparing the technology to compress and deliver highbandwidth content, global innovators are delivering the technology required to meet consumer demand for bandwidth, as well as making multi-screen viewing and Ultra HD a reality in the months and years to come. We saw the change that would happen in context as how to view content but what type of content would also undergo a considerable change by the year of 2019. This would indirectly want the consumers to choose their channels of viewing. Sports, Health, News and Music/Entertainment are 4 categories that would jump high no matter what. In future, people would connect directly to such content through their individual devices. In short 2019 would witness the birth of aggregated, pick-and-mix TV solutions where TV as a box would continue to exist BUT with features added onto it. If the features continue to seek more advancement, it can behold its customers; however internet/technology is even present in the air!!

References http://www.ericsson.com/res/docs/2013/consumerlab/tv-and-media-consumerlab2013.pdf http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/resources/library/BBC/MEDIA_CENTRE/TV_Licensing_Telesco pe_Report_2012.pdf

Seismic" shift in US, UK TV viewing habits | Rapid TV News http://www.rapidtvnews.com/index.php/25190/seismic-shift-in-us-uk-tv-viewinghabits.html#ixzz2umzvxYLv How Consumer Viewing Habits Are Driving Innovation | Rapid TV News http://www.rapidtvnews.com/index.php/how-consumer-viewing-habits-are-drivinginnovation.html#ixzz2un0PF2mt

Name Anie Noorish Shaikh MBA Sophomore