An online viewer report has revealed who’s the Indian audience and what do they watch
According to the report on YouTube viewership put out by Google, they're 15-34 year-olds (73%) who Google videos whenever they wish to learn something.
The internet search engine revealed these details in a report titled the 'Indian online video viewer' based on viewership patterns and behaviour on its video-streaming platform, YouTube.
The report highlights prominent usage bands for the platform's video content, including average watch time (67 minutes), language preferences (Hindi) and the reasons behind video time, alongside other prominent insights.
Around 37 per cent of users come from rural areas, which is equally interesting as this indicates a shift in the viewership geography.
Though 79 per cent of video consumption happens at home, 21 per cent of consumption happens on the move.
- YouTube watchers in India access it via smartphones
- Netflix makes more than 30 episodes of its shows free on YouTube
- Alexa is now ready for India, adds Hindi support
Hindi and regional languages beat English
With 245 million monthly active users, YouTube reaches 80 to 85 per cent of India's internet population, making India one of the biggest consumers of YouTube content.
In terms of language preference, Hindi lords over English. The report revealed that 54% audience preferred Hindi videos, followed by content in English (16%).
The rest preferred to watch content in Telugu (7%), Kannada (6%), Tamil (5%) and Bengali (3%). But the cumulative percentage of regional languages preference also beats English.
In the report, Google says 55% online users accessed the internet as a way to de-stress, followed by a need to learn.
Only 11% go online to connect with another person. Also, 33% or one in every three Indians are online to watch videos.
YouTube also revealed that Indians watch online videos anytime, anywhere and online video is watched consistently throughout the day.
"Inform and entertain in their language"
Quite interestingly, the pattern about what they watch has shifted too, including explainers and other news and current affairs content, over live feeds and music.
BARC India had recently revealed how India's online viewership had changed its consumption patterns during the coronavirus pandemic and the nation-wide lockdown. That report highlighted how news and analysis trumped needs for entertainment from January 2020 to March 2020.
The Google report has laid down the pattern for upcoming Indian YouTubers too. "Inform, entertain and talk to the Indian audience in their language - that's the way to the Indian online viewer's eyeballs."
The study, based on responses from 6,500 viewers in India, was conducted before the onset of the global pandemic.
