MUMBAI: A study by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), a US-based not-for-profit research company, has found that 56 per cent of people who co-view OTT talk about the brands they see while viewing content on TV screens. Co-viewing is the act of watching with others. On TV it is 50 per cent. The survey was conducted on viewers aged 13-64 in the US.

According to the study titled The OTT Co-Viewing Experience: 2017, 93 per cent of people co-view on TV through platforms such as OTT, linear TV, VOD, and DVR. This if followed by computer at 55 per cent, smartphones at 49 per cent and tablet at 39 per cent.

OTT has a higher impact than TV when it comes to brand-related awareness. Whether its discussion about brands they see, changing their own or someone else’s mind about a brand, discuss it on social media, make a note to purchase it later, search information online or actually buy it, OTT leads over TV.

Moreover, 64 per cent feel it is fun to watch with others while 69 per cent engage in talks about the video with their partners. 36 per cent of OTT videos are live programmes and the platform also gets people to watch longer format content (more than 30 minutes).

Co-viewing on OTT has younger demographics aged 18-34 years compared to TV co-viewing of 13 to 64. These are the two top mediums for co-viewing in the US. Co-viewing content for OTT is picked collaboratively and the motive is to unwind themselves. It is also most prevalent among spouses (59 per cent on OTT) followed by children (41 per cent on OTT).

Furthermore, 92 per cent of co-viewers pay moderate to full attention to the content while 69 per cent are focused on the ads. The study also found that OTT viewers tend to watch double the amount of ad-supported content than subscription services without ads.

IAB research and impact senior VP Chris Kuist said, “Watching TV has always had an important social component and this has absolutely continued as OTT platforms become ever-more important parts of people’s viewing rituals. This social aspect of biggest screen in the house is powerful and is being amplified on OTT platforms in ways that can greatly benefit marketers.”