MX Player ranked number one in India followed by Hotstar and ZEE5, and third worldwide after YouTube and Netflix, on the number of downloads among video streaming apps, according to the State of Mobile 2023 Report by Data.ai (formerly App Annie).
In terms of consumer spend, social live streaming app Tango Live emerged on top in India, followed by Hotstar and YouTube. Globally, the top three were YouTube, Disney+ and HBOMax, according to the report.
The top 10 by downloads in India included Jio TV at fourth place, followed by Jio Cinema, Amazon Prime Video, Voot, Sony Liv, Rooter and YouTube Kids.
The top 10 by consumer spend in India included Sony LIv at fourth place, followed by Ola Party, Zee5, Ullu, Netflix, Voot and Super Live.
The report revealed that globally, demand for mobile apps accelerated last year while consumer spend came down. Downloads grew to 255 billion (up 11pc) and hours spent went up to 4.1 trillion (up 9pc). Meanwhile, consumer spending across all app stores (including third-party Android marketplaces in China) slipped by 2pc to $167 billion as economic headwinds impact discretionary spending, said the report.
MX Player is part of the Times Network. On the report, Nikhil Gandhi, Chief Operating Officer, MX Player, said, “2022 has been a defining year for MX Player for many reasons. From understanding the pulse of the viewers to creating diverse content, we focused on establishing the platform for giving a holistic user experience. The growth has been phenomenal and we’re proud to have rightfully worked towards fulfilling our mission of providing entertainment to the masses, large and wide. We’re privileged to be acknowledged and trusted as a go-to-platform for entertainment and are encouraged to offer top-notch engaging content in the coming years.”
Tango, which launched as a mobile video calling and messaging app in 2009, pivoted to become a live streaming app in 2018.
Sports Drives Downloads
The top peak weeks by downloads for OTT apps list underlines influence and potential of big ticket sporting events. Topping the list is Jio Cinemas in the week of the FIFA Soccer World Cup beginning 20 November 2022. The app saw over 64 lakh downloads in the week.
This is followed by Hotstar, which clocked over 30 lakh downloads each in the week starting 4 September (ICC Men’s Asia Cup) and week starting 23 October (ICC Men’s T20 World Cup).
Amazon clocked close to 28 lakh downloads in the week starting 20 November (Ind Vs NZ) while Toffee (from Bangladesh) gained close to 23 lakh downloads at the start of the FIFA World Cup.
Also in the top 10 peak weeks list were MX Player in the week beginning 23 January with nearly 16 lakh downloads (Campus Diaries) and Amazon Prime with close to 15 lakh downloads in mid-January (Pushpa: The Rise).
