Asian Journal of Sociological Research

Background: Entertainment is a big business in all parts of the world. The Media and Entertainment (M&E) industry has multiple segments that combine into one vertical; Movies/Cinema, Television, Music, Publishing, Radio, Internet, Advertising, and Gaming. This makes the vertical unique since these sub-verticals compete, complement, and combine to fulfill the ever-increasing demand for entertainment and information globally1. OTT stands for “over-the-top” and refers to the practice of streaming content to customers directly over the web. It is the channel of the future of entertainment.

OTT is defining a new way of consuming content. The acronym OTT stands for Over-the-Top. This means streaming across different devices whenever we want is possible because of “over-the-top,” a convenient little term that explains the new delivery method of film and TV content over the internet without the need for traditional broadcast, cable, or satellite pay-TV providers. (Che Hassan, 2021). OTT streaming is when premium content and a superior experience are made available by an OTT platform, like Netflix and Hulu, with the user not needing cable in order to watch. 

Aim: The present study has been undertaken to evaluate the reasons for the increasing popularity of OTT during post covid and the level of satisfaction of OTT users and theatre enthusiasts across the different colleges in Ernakulam District of Kerala with special reference to Kothamangalam Taluk.

Results: Most of the respondents used mobile phones to access OTT platforms and liked watching comedy content every month. The respondents were satisfied with the streaming quality, audio quality, buffering, choice of language versatility of content, and quality of content. The interruption of advertisements was one of the major dissatisfying factors in choosing the OTT Platform. The study also revealed that most of the respondents were satisfied with the projection quality, sound quality, and air conditioning system of theatres, The behavior of the crowd, the quality of 3D, affordability, and availability of theatres in the nearby locality were the other factor that ensures the satisfaction of the consumers to prefer theatres as a platform for entertainment.