As the COVID-19 outbreak and the unprecedented experiment of lockdown, that was triggered by the pandemic, had put millions of Indians in their homes with strict restrictions to curb the spread of the human to human transmitting virus, most of the people had developed a new love on the OTT platforms to make their confinement filled with movies and entertainments. 

While India had seen a spike of COVID-19 cases during the lockdown, it also had seen a spike of users of the OTT platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+Hotstar. According to the survey conducted by FLYX, a social network platform, it came to the revelation that most of the respondents had endured the OTT platforms as their regular part of life during the lockdown and restrictions, signaling that such platforms are strongly been etching their bases in the country. 

The survey was conducted on 500 respondents between the age groups of 18-65 years including students, professionals, businesspersons, and self-employed people. The findings had revealed that 50% of the respondents had purchased new subscriptions in any of these platforms during the pandemic. The survey showed that Netflix has been the most popular platform as about 60% of the respondents had voted for it as their popular platform. 

On the other side, Amazon Prime Video has become the most subscribed platform among the respondents during the lockdown followed by Netflix and Disney+Hotstar. The survey had also highlighted that the users had popularly watched movies and web series under the genre of comedy and drama, followed by action and romance. 

According to the survey, a large number of people had relied on watching movies based on the recommendations. The social network platform said that 53% of consumers had primarily discovered new content based on recommendations from friends and family while 21% made the choice based on suggestions from the platform itself. 

Through the survey, it came to light that the respondents are waiting for the resumption of theaters as 62% of the surveyed said they would watch movies in theaters after the resumption. While there has been a five times increase in those spending over 16 hours weekly on OTT platforms, the number of people who spend 12-16 hours weekly on OTT platforms had increased four times whereas there has been an increase of 2.5 times in viewing hours among those that spend 8-12 hours weekly. 

The survey had also shown that there has been an increase in the number of watching hours among users while 50% of respondents had said they are spending time on OTT platforms as a social activity with family and friends, as the platforms had become an unequivocal medium for those who love binge-watching and exploring multi-languages and genres under one roof.

The CEO of FLYX said that 'In these unprecedented times, the breakthrough and growth witnessed by OTT platforms have been phenomenal. The survey has highlighted how COVID-19 had moved OTT being a niche category, into the mainstream and how consumers of nearly all ages interact with video content on their platforms. India has been emerging as the second-largest subscription television market in Asia-pacific as platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hotstar have seen an exponential rise in their subscriber base in the country'.

The COVID-19 lockdown has pushed the OTT platforms many steps forward as these platforms have become the new leg for the movie industries to take their movies directly to the audiences in the wake of the closures of theaters and cinema halls due to the restrictions. Through the survey, it can be learned that the OTT platforms, which were one of the players of entertainment, have now become the major player of the entertainment as these online streaming apps have been a routine part of people from all walks of life.