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OTT platforms resilience to COVID-19 – a study of business strategies and consumer media consumption in India

Kavita Sharma (Department of Commerce, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India)
Emmanuel Elioth Lulandala (Department of Banking, Accounting and Finance, Moshi Co-operative University, Moshi, United Republic of Tanzania)

International Journal of Organizational Analysis

ISSN: 1934-8835

Article publication date: 26 April 2022

Issue publication date: 13 January 2023

1243

Abstract

Purpose

COVID-19 preventive measures disrupted the media and entertainment business ecosystem, increased over the top (OTT) consumption, brought new OTT players, thus increased competition, and shaped consumer behaviour and habits. Despite this knowledge, in-depth insights into OTT's consumer behaviour, new usage habit and strategies used by subscription-based OTT platforms to maintain resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic are unknown. This paper aims to fill the two gaps in the extant OTT literature.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used Eisenhardt's multiple case studies approach to derive the strategies used by the top-performing subscription-based OTT platforms in India. Moreover, a purposive semi-structured Google survey was used to explore consumers' OTT experience during the pandemic. This study analysed data using NVivo 12 (survey) and MS Excel 2010 (case studies).

Findings

This study derived seven resilient OTT strategies; competitive low pricing, enhancing customer experience, launching innovative service plans, content localisation, strategic collaboration, flexibility in technology adoption and proactive sales promotion. Consequent to adopting these strategies, consumers' usage of OTT evolved from occasional to habitual. Convenience, ease of accessibility, risk of contracting COVID-19, variety and quality of content, online reviews and affordability drive consumer preference for OTT. Also, this study revealed consumers' varied OTT experiences.

Originality/value

The contribution is two-fold; the derived strategies for maintaining resilience and the in-depth insights into habit formation and consumer behaviour during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study is valuable for media and entertainment stakeholders like streaming service providers, OTT services, cable operators, etc.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Funding: This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Citation

Sharma, K. and Lulandala, E.E. (2023), "OTT platforms resilience to COVID-19 – a study of business strategies and consumer media consumption in India", International Journal of Organizational Analysis, Vol. 31 No. 1, pp. 63-90. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOA-06-2021-2816

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited

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