MUMBAI: As many as 86% of internet users enjoy OTT (over-the-top) audio and video services, more than half of them from the hinterland, making it the top internet use case in the country, according to an industry report. It is said that it is. .
The rise of digital entertainment services is fueled by the rise of smart TVs, smart speakers, Firestick, and Chromecast, as more people access video content on internet-only devices (208 million) than ever before in 2021. It grew by 58% from 2023 to 2023. linear TV (181 million), according to a report from the Internet and Mobile Association and marketing data analytics firm Kantar.
The report also found that rural users are driving all of these use cases, accounting for more than 50% of the user base.
The report, based on inputs from over 90,000 households across all states and union territories except Lakshadweep, was released at the ongoing India Digital Summit 2024.
The second and third most popular use cases for the Internet are communication with 621 million users and social media with 575 million users.
As of 2023, there are more than 823 million active internet users in the country. This means that more than 55 percent of people in the country used the Internet last year. This is a modest 8 percent increase over the previous year.
Rural users account for the majority at 442 million, or more than 53 percent of the total user base.
In terms of gender, it is reported that the male to female ratio of internet users has increased from 71:29 in 2015 to 54:46 in 2023, which is almost the same as the overall sex ratio of the target population in the country. The book says:
However, the report says that net penetration in rural markets, which has driven internet growth for years past, is slowing, with an 11% slowdown in 2023 compared to 2022, and overall growth It has declined to 8% per year. cent.
The report further states that 57% of users prefer to access content in their local language, with Tamil, Telegu and Malayalam having the strongest language preference for content.
States with the lowest internet user bases are currently experiencing the highest growth rates, with Jharkhand (46 percent penetration) and Bihar (37 percent penetration) showing above-average growth rates of 12 percent and 17 percent, respectively.
(issued February 27, 2024, 13:20 IST)