GudSho study shows surge in consumption of regional OTT content

GudSho, the first OTT platform to premiere content in all four South Indian languages exclusively, recently undertook a study that indicated a significant surge in consumption of regional content on over-the-top (OTT) platforms. This study is based on visits and searches by nearly 4,79,281 people who landed on GudSho between April and September 2021.

According to the study, GudSho's content has received more traction from tier 2 cities such as  Madurai, Salem, Trichy, Virudhunagar, Nagercoil, Hubli, Dharwad, breaking the misconception that only people from tier 1 cities consume OTT content.

Their study also revealed that audiences, especially people between 40 and 55 years, are still interested in watching classics such as Mouna Ragam (1986), Nayakan (1987), Thalapathi (1991), Amaidhi Padai (1994) and Kadhalukku Mariyadhai (1997) as most of these films still attract a lot of repeat viewers. But viewers between the ages of 30 and 40 seem to prefer watching the latest blockbusters. 

The study also revealed that although most of the audiences prefer to watch commercial action entertainers, the average watch time of these films is a lot less, indicating that people tend to watch only a section of these films. On the other hand, classics and hard-hitting films get comparatively less traction but the watch time is on the higher side as most viewers watch three-fourths of the film. 

Their study also revealed that the majority of OTT viewers prefer to watch adult comedy films such as Trisha Illana Nayanthara (2015) and Chithakkotudu 2 (2020).

Speaking about the study, Sriram Manoharan, founder and CEO, GudSho, said, “It's been close to six months since our launch and we have noted some very interesting trends in OTT viewership. These trends highlight the ever-changing landscape of the regional OTT universe. Our study shows that there has been a surge in the regional OTT content consumption and this is in line with the research report released by FICCI-EY which states that regional language consumption on OTT platforms will cross 50% by 2025.”

GudShow was launched by a Chennai-based group CONTUS in April with an aim to premiere content in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada.