In 2015, the Media Development Authority of Singapore, now IMDA, commissioned the first edition of a study intended to track how online viewing habits evolve with increasing awareness and availability of over-the-top (OTT) video services in the Singapore market. The study provides insights on OTT video usage, video preferences and habits of Singapore viewers aged 0 to 65.

Study findings of OTT Video Consumer Study 2015

OTT Video Usage 

  • More than half of consumers (54%) watched online videos. 
  • This is highest among millennials (aged 15 to 34) at 89%. The most used online video services were YouTube (96%) and social networks such as Facebook and Instagram (59%). 
  • Younger OTT viewers spent a greater proportion of their viewing time on online video compared to traditional TV (Children – 65%, Millennials – 61%, Adults aged 35 to 54 – 48%, Adults aged 55 to 65 – 43%). 

Viewing Preferences & Habits

  • The top genres of online videos were Drama (40%), Movies (25%), Sports (10%), and Entertainment & Variety (8%) for adults; and Animation & Cartoons (59%) for children. 
  • Online videos were most frequently consumed on mobile phones for adults (41%), while the most frequently used device varied for children according to their ages.
  • Multitasking on a second screen was a more common behaviour in millennial OTT viewers (60%), and OTT viewers aged 11 to 14 (58%). 
  • Only 11% of adult OTT viewers were paying for online videos. Majority of those paying (67%), were doing so on top of their existing pay TV subscription and made no changes to their pay TV subscription. 

For more details on the OTT Video Consumer Study 2015, please access the full set of slides here (OVCS2015) (728.79KB)

For any queries on the OTT Video Consumer Study, please feel free to contact us at: rsuadmin@imda.gov.sg.

Last updated on: 03 Jan 2023