Most Indians prefer to watch Live' TV: Study

Most (82%) Indian respondents who watch TV indicate they usually watch TV programming “live”, although other popular modes of watching are catching on like streaming or downloading from a computer (40%), streaming from the internet to TV (23%), using a DVR or other recording device attached to a TV (16%), and on mobile device (21%). The findings reflect a new online poll of 15,551 adults in 20 countries conducted by Ipsos OTX – the global innovation center for Ipsos, the world’s third largest market and opinion research firm.

Traditional ‘live’ TV watching is significantly more popular among Indian respondent’s ages 50-64 (89%) compared to those 35-49 (88%) and under 35 (76%). Other modes of watching TV programming are more popular among younger respondents: on computer and laptop – under 35 (35%), 35-49 (25%), 50-64 (17%); streaming from the internet – under 35 (20%), 35-49 (16%), 50-64 (11%); on mobile device – under 35 (15%), 35-49 (10%), 50-64 (5%). Using a DVR or other recording device attached to a TV is most popular with those 50-64 (18%) compared to 35-64 (16%) and under 35 (15%).

“With so many new ways to view television programming, it might come as a surprise that 82% of TV watchers in India still watch their shows "live on TV” – that is, on a regular television at the time they are programmed to appear. The indication, then, would be that television is still a prime venue for marketers to advertise,” said Biswarup Banerjee, Head Marketing Communication, Ipsos in India.

“That is, of course, unless those couch-comfortable viewers are attached to their remote control devices and start surfing every time commercials come on or if they reach for their mute buttons when commercials are airing. What is clear is that while new televisions are capability-packed, most people watch TV as they used to watching it – live,” added Banerjee.

Those most likely to choose watching TV programming on live TV are from France (93%), Spain (93%), Germany (92%), Turkey (90%), Argentina (89%), Sweden (89%), and Australia (89%). Those rounding out the middle of the pack are from: Brazil (89%), Italy (89%), South Korea (87%), Great Britain (83%), Mexico (82%), Poland (82%), and India (82%). Those least likely to watch TV programming live are from: Japan (82%), Russia (81%), South Africa (81%), United States (81%), China (80%), and Canada (77%).

Watching TV on computer or laptop is chosen most often by those from: China (52%), Russia (43%), Turkey (42%), India (40%), Sweden (35%), South Korea (31%), and Great Britain (29%). Those clustering around the center of the list are from: Poland (27%), South Africa (26%), Canada (26%), Germany (24%), Mexico (24%), Spain (23%), and Brazil (21%). Those from Argentina (20%), the United States (20%), Australia (19%), Italy (17%), Japan (14%) and France (12%) are least likely to watch TV on computer or laptop.

Streaming from the internet to TV is most popular among those in Turkey (44%), Russia (36%), China (33%), South Korea (25%), India (23%), Sweden (19%), and Great Britain (17%). Those in the middle of the pack are from: Canada (17%), the United States (17%), Brazil (15%), Mexico (13%), Spain (12%), Italy (11%), and Australia (10%). Those from South Africa (9%), Argentina (9%), Poland (7%), Germany (5%), France (5%), and Japan (3%) are least likely to choose streaming from internet to TV.

Those who most likely to use a DVR or other recording devices attached to a TV are from Japan (45%), the United States (40%), Canada (32%), Great Britain (31%), South Africa (27%), and Australia (25%). Those in the middle of the pack are from Poland (18%), India (16%), Germany (11%), France (11%), China (10%), Mexico (9%), and Sweden (8%). Respondents from Turkey (7%), Brazil (7%), Spain (7%), Italy (7%), Argentina (6%), South Korea (5%), and Russia (4%) are least likely to use a DVR or other recording devices.

Watching TV programming on mobile device is most popular among respondents who are from South Korea (26%), China (25%), India (21%), Turkey (20%), Mexico (13%), Great Britain (12%), and Sweden (12%). Those in the middle are from the United States (10%), Australia (9%), Spain (9%), Brazil (8%), Canada (7%), South Africa (7%), and Italy (7%). Least likely to watch TV on mobile device are respondents from Argentina (7%), Japan (6%), Poland (5%), Russia (5%), Germany (4%), and France (4%).