What Malaysian OTT/ VOD viewers really want

• Vuclip’s Global Video Insights survey shows Malaysian consumption habits
• Smooth viewing experience and fresh content important

 
MALAYSIAN consumers consider as many as seven features as must-haves in an OTT (over-the-top) content player, with a smooth user interface (61%), buffer-free experience (58%), high definition video quality (56%), and the latest/ fresh videos (54%) as the top four.
 
The other three factors are: Autonomy in selecting streaming quality (47%), video download feature (46%), and ability to download multiple videos at the same time (45%), according to the Vuclip Global Video Insights (GVI) 2015 Survey.
 
With growing interest in over-the-top video-on-demand (OTT VOD) content in the country, GVI 2015 sheds light on Malaysian consumers’ preferences for OTT services, mobile VOD service company Vuclip said in a statement.
 
“Our survey shows that consumers consistently want a smooth and fuss-free entertainment experience,” said its chief operating officer Arun Prakash.
 
“One factor that stood out is the need for the latest and freshest videos. With hundreds of hours of video content uploaded online every minute, to a multitude of video sites, consumers want to be entertained by the newest and best videos,” he added.
 
Device preference
 
The survey also covered Malaysian consumers’ general video consumption habits. They typically prefer their laptops/ PCs when viewing video content (45%), followed by smartphones (23%), televisions (23%) and tablets (9%), with half of all respondents stating that they view videos on laptops/ PCs and smartphones daily.
 
Mobile devices are the preferred device when viewing short-form content with a run time of less than 10 minutes (84%, as compared with 70% for laptops/ PCs and 17% for television).
 
Television and laptops/ PCs lead for long-form content (93% and 71% respectively), such as films and videos with a run time of more than 10 minutes.
 
82% of respondents indicate they download videos, with free videos from websites preferred (62%), followed by torrents (44%); only 15% purchased videos online.
 
These videos are likely comedies, the top genre at about 60%, followed by action and sports for males, and romance and drama for females, said Vuclip.
 
Video consumption behaviour
 
The results also show that Malaysian consumers use WiFi to access the Internet on mobile devices (43%), as compared to 3G (32%) and 4G (22%) connections.
 
Viewing of videos on smartphones is primarily done at home (80%), or where there is free WiFi (50%).
 
At the same time, the survey highlights slow download speeds or buffering (56%), high data consumption (56%) and battery drainage (47%) as key concerns around smartphone video consumption in Malaysia.
 
“The modern video consumer in Malaysia wants early access to their favourite quality videos,” said Arun (pic).
 
“We see that Malaysians tend to get around network constraints by viewing content at free WiFi locations or downloading videos. These are likely reasons why longer form content is viewed at home rather than on the go,” he added.
 
Increase of mobile video consumption
 
Projections by the Ericsson Mobility Report indicate that smartphone subscription penetration in Malaysia is expected to grow by more than 100% by 2018, Vuclip said.
 
In the South-East Asia and Oceania region, it is projected that the amount of data used monthly by each active smartphone will increase from an average of 1.2GB in 2015 to approximately 9GB by 2021.
 
“Statistics (by Cisco's annual Visual Networking Index) indicate that Malaysian mobile video consumption is rapidly increasing, reflecting the growth of global IP (Internet Protocol) traffic, which will triple from 2014 to 2019,” said Arun.
 
“The years ahead are shaping up to be an exciting time for the digital content industry, especially in mobile video,” he added.
 
Methodology
 
The data for preparing the Vuclip Global Video Insights 2015 report was collected by conducting an online survey of 4,600 in 10 countries. In Malaysia, there were 500 respondents.
 
The participants for this study comprised of 18-35 years old smartphone Internet users who viewed videos on their smartphones at least once a month. Additionally, geographic representation from different parts of each country was ensured for adequate coverage.
 
Users were provided multiple-choice questions and had the option to opt out. No incentives were provided for responding.
 
The 10 participating countries were Malaysia, India, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, the Philippines, Indonesia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore and Australia.
 
Milpitas, California-headquartered Vuclip is mobile VOD service for emerging markets, claiming more than 7.5 million subscribers per quarter across nine different countries.
 
Through strategic partnerships with more than 250 studios around the world, Vuclip brings to subscribers blockbuster Hollywood and regional movies, TV shows and music videos in 34 different languages.
 
The company has a presence in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Dubai, Cairo, Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Bangkok.
 
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