Article Preview
TopIntroduction
OTT is the name given to media entertainment services delivered over the internet. It is a premium content service typically offered by traditional broadcasters and production houses in addition to the content they provide to their regular television subscribers (Kokaram Anil, Crinon Regis, 2015). OTT bypasses traditional broadcast mediums such as television and is provided over the internet through a mobile app or other internet-backed electronic devices such as laptops, tablets, or even smart TVs (Chatterjee, 2020).
OTT entertainment began taking root in 2007 when Netflix started streaming movies and other shows over the internet for its subscribers in the US (Dhar, 2021). Since then, OTT entertainment has slowly and steadily grown to be a popular entertainment medium. Almost every major national broadcaster in the US and Europe is supplying OTT services as an additional service to their traditional TV offering (Kokaram Anil, Crinon Regis, 2015). Netflix, followed by Amazon Prime, has emerged as the most popular SVOD platform. In contrast, Hotstar appears to be the clear leader in the hybrid model category of OTT platforms, followed by Voot, Zee5, and Sony Liv (Saha & Prasad, 2021).
Over 300 OTT service providers are in just the United States of America itself (Dasic, 2021). In January 2016, Netflix opened its operations in 130 new countries in addition to the 60 countries it has already serviced, taking its operations into over 190 countries (Russell, 2016).
The world went through the COVID-19 pandemic since December 2019, which significantly boosted the OTT segment globally (Research Dive, 2021). The total global OTT market was worth 121.69 billion dollars in 2019 and is expected to become a trillion-dollar segment by 2027 growing at a CAGR of 29.4% from 2020 to 2027 (Rachita Rake, 2020). The adoption of OTT platforms has increased, as suggested by the fact that 45% more people are watching OTT services in quarter 1 of 2021 compared to the previous year, with the global average viewing time rising 36% compared to last year (Conviva, 2021).
This rapid rise in the OTT segment could be attributed to increased penetration of broadband services, smartphones, and fast-paced mobile internet, advances in the media streaming technology, personalization in OTT apps, innovative pricing models offered by the service providers, and the growing demand for high-quality exclusive content (Hughes, 2020).
The consumer preference for OTT entertainment platforms is increasing at a fast rate and is showing promising signs for the future. However, a thorough literature review would help to get a real grasp of the situation. It still needs to be seen as what drives the consumers to opt for OTT platforms over traditional mediums or in addition to the traditional mediums of entertainment and which factors motivate them to continue using these services. Hence, the primary objective of this study is to identify the gaps and lacunae in the literature about the adoption and usage of over-the-top entertainment, which future researchers could exploit to produce quality academic work. This study is expected to highlight the widely researched themes and, subsequently, bring out the lesser-focused areas of study within the realm of over-the-top entertainment adoption and usage.
As the study progresses, it will bring out various factors influencing the adoption and usage of OTT entertainment services explored in the literature. Subsequently, the consumer preference shift from traditional mediums to OTT and VOD services will be analyzed. Related phenomena like cord-cutting and binge-watching would be examined too. The interaction of OTT with related technology and regulatory concerns, along with the business aspects of OTT entertainment services, will also be discussed in the paper. Willingness to pay for OTT entertainment services, the impact of demographic variables on the adoption of OTT entertainment services and the phenomenon of cord-cutting could be some of the research areas to be studied in the future as per the study.
The review paper is structured, beginning with an introduction section followed by a description of the methodology adopted. Further, the review of the sampled articles will be followed by an analysis and discussion of the same. Finally, the paper will be concluded by highlighting the managerial and theoretical implications of the study and will provide direction for research to be conducted in the future.