Indian mobile users move to mobiles for online videos: study

Indian mobile users are largely moving towards mobile devices for accessing content with 81 per cent of metro and 87 per cent of non-metro survey participants identifying mobile phones as a preferred medium, according to a study.

According to the study commissioned by Vuclip, a global independent mobile video and media company, which was conducted by leading global marketing and research firm Millward Brown revealed that among the 20 million mobile video consumers of Vuclip in India almost 80 per cent, watched videos on their mobile devices at least once every 2-3 days, with over half watching on a daily basis.

Over 500 respondents were polled in the study conducted across several locales and demographics in the country from the Vuclip user base.

Metro participants constituted 50 per cent of the study, while 42 per cent were from non-metros.

The greatest number of respondents, 83 per cent, belonged to the 18-34 age group, which  demonstrated the huge affinity among youth audiences for the mobile medium.

According to Vuclip COO, Arun Prakash, the data spoke volumes for the fact that in a very short time, mobile phones had garnered undisputed dominance in terms of content consumption.

He added, for a majority of Indian consumers, it was the only screen, and  the demand for mobile video would no doubt be pushed to new heights in the days to come.

The mobile phone offered a strong alternative to traditional entertainment media like television, as most of the Vuclip users surveyed regardless of region, watched videos from home (72 per cent).

According to the study, the 2G internet connection was still the most widely used, making up 73 per cent of non-metro and 58 per cent of metro markets, although metro users reported higher usage of 3G networks (24 per cent as against 19 per cent).

Samsung and Nokia phones are the leaders in both regions, with the former dominating metro areas while the latter found favour with those polled in non-metro regions.

In metros, 73 per cent of consumers spent over Rs4,000 for their device as against, 44 per cent of consumers favouring phones priced below Rs4,000, in non-metros, which explained the dominance of Samsung and Nokia devices in metros and non-metros respectively.