Asian consumers are open to ads on OTT services

Almost one-third (30%) of consumers in Asia would be happy to be served ads on over-the-top TV services in exchange for receiving content for free, a recent survey has revealed.

The 2019 Asia OTT Research Report from online video platform Brightcove also found that a fifth (21%) of respondents would opt to pay a limited subscription as a trade-off for a service with limited ads, while just 14% would pay a higher fee to be free from ads altogether.

That is according to a survey of 9,000 consumers that research firm YouGov conducted across nine markets in Asia – Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

The research also found that compelling content is a key driver for Asian consumers thinking of subscribing to multiple OTT services.

Forty-three percent indicate they would sign up because they want more content options, 35% would want access to niche content, while 36% would pay because the content they want isn’t available on just one OTT service.

And of particular note for OTT service providers and marketers, the survey found that free trials and/or promotions would motivate another 42% to sign up to a multiple OTT package.

According to Brightcove, there are “broadening market opportunities” for providers because more than half (54%) of Asian consumers who have let their OTT subscription lapse say they would be open to signing up again in the future.

However, price might influence their decision because more than half (54%) would not want to pay more than US$4 per month, although 20% say they would be prepared to pay a monthly fee of US$5 to US$9.

“The TV industry in Asia continues to be disrupted by a variety of OTT TV services and is shifting more to online video,” said Greg Amshaw, Brightcove’s head of sales, Asia.

“It’s being defined by what the viewers want, how much they are willing to pay, and what kind of user experience viewers are demanding,” he added.

Elsewhere, the survey also revealed that the OTT features most desired by Asian consumers are offline download (42%), access on mobile (38%) and using less mobile data when streaming (33%).

source: http://www.warc.com