The streaming habits of Australians and Indonesians

A new report from verification company Integral Ad Science (IAS) shows interesting similarities and contrasts in OTT consumption patterns in two key markets in APAC: Australia and Indonesia.

While a significant number of consumers in both markets say they are willing to watch ads in exchange for streaming video (84% in Indonesia and 76% in Australia), their method of accessing these streaming services and their preferred options wary widely. 

In Australia, a more economically developed market, there is a clear focus on accessing OTT services on connected TVs. According to data from this survey, 70% of Australian consumers prefer to access OTT services from connected TVs, while just over half use mobile devices to watch content on these streaming services. 

According to the report, over three-quarters of consumers have increased their consumption of streaming content during the Covid-19 pandemic. Consumers are significantly more likely to add a free streaming service (57%) than a subscription service (49%) due to COVID-19 quarantine measures.

As advertisers and tech platforms rush to keep pace with these changing norms, the IAS study revealed that nearly 60% of Australian respondents preferred high-quality ads, and almost half of them indicated that the ads must be relevant to the content they are watching. A full 55% of consumers are likely to view an ad to completion if the ad is relevant to the content they’re watching. In sharp contrast to Australia, local providers such as Viu, Vdio and iflix are popular in Indonesia, even if Youtube ad Netflix are the two most preferred platforms. 

However, as OTT fatigue starts kicking in, after months of being homebound, Aussies are also willing to watch ads and sign up for free services. Over three-quarters of them are willing to see ads in exchange for free content and nearly two-thirds plan to add free video streaming services in the next 12 months. For the moment, multinational platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ are the top three services in the country. 

The Indonesia story

As advertisers and marketers seek to make sense of a heterogeneous APAC market, the contrast between Australia and Indonesia, provides a sense of the challenges they face. For instance, in the emerging market of Indonesia, mobile dominates conversations, with 76% of audiences predominately streaming content on their handheld devices. 

Despite this, the report indicated there is a growing adoption of CTV with 29% engaging with this medium for video content consumption. There is strong adoption amongst CTV users for both subscription and free ad-supported content, with 83% have added a subscription service this year and 89% have added free streaming to their basket.

There is an even greater interest in free streaming content in Indonesia, with 80% of respondents willing to see ads in exchange for video. Almost six out of 10 respondents said they prefer high-quality ads (ads appearing in a high-quality environment) when they are watching free streaming video content and over half (56%) said that the ads must be relevant to the content they are watching. Three-quarters of of consumers are likely to view an ad to completion if the ad is relevant to the content they’re engaging with.