India’s streaming market has seen a notable shift towards collective viewing, with 57% of streaming content consumed in group settings in 2024, up from 53% in 2022—a swing of eight percentage points in just two years, a report by Ormax Media revealed. This trend is driven by the rising adoption of Connected TVs, now used by 36% of SVOD (subscription video-on-demand) audiences, amounting to around 32 million urban adults. With an average of 3.5 family members sharing a screen, the number of Connected TV households engaging in streaming collectively is estimated at 18-19 million, highlighting a growing overlap between streaming and traditional family viewing habits.
The report further states that this behavioural shift is not attributed to changes in the type of streaming content, which remains largely consistent, but to the increasing social and technological integration of streaming devices like Connected TVs. Among SVOD audiences using these devices, the ratio of solo to collective viewing shifts from 43:57 to 34:66, underscoring the impact of larger screens on viewing habits. However, much of the content streamed on Connected TVs includes ad-supported options like YouTube, alongside paid subscriptions. While this trend hints at opportunities for SVOD platforms to capture more family-oriented viewership, the willingness of non-urban audiences to pay for streaming remains a significant challenge.
This development also raises concerns for linear television, which has long dominated family viewing in India. If the trend of collective viewing continues to grow within streaming, the television industry could face faster rates of audience attrition and the potential for widespread cord-cutting, a phenomenon that has so far been limited in India.