Uses and Gratifications of Over-the-Top (OTT) Video Streaming Platforms in India: Predictors of User’s Affinity, Satisfaction and Cord-Cutting

Abstract

Over-the-top (OTT) platforms have changed how people watch television due to technological affordance and interactivity. With the theoretical framework of the uses and gratifications theory ( N = 421), this study identified eight motivational factors for OTT viewing: convenient navigability, improved viewing experience, entertainment, relaxation, social interaction, companionship, voyeurism and information seeking. Some of the study’s prominent findings were: convenient navigability, improved viewing experience, entertainment and voyeurism were positive predictors of OTT affinity; Entertainment, voyeurism and information-seeking gratifications positively predicted satisfaction with the OTT, while convenient navigability negatively predicted satisfaction; Convenient navigability, improved viewing experience, entertainment and relaxation gratifications along with interactivity and viewing levels positively predicted the intention to cord-cut.