The Adoption and Trend of Over-The-Top Streaming Media among the Malaysian Audiences

Abstract

Netflix and several global OTT media providers entered into Malaysian market since way back in 2016. The prevalence of content accessed through global OTT media platforms has made film and drama series a genre broadcast through OTT media platforms among Malaysian audiences. The tremendous response among local viewers proposes the question, why OTT streaming media is so famous? Hence, this article intended to provide a better and comprehensive understanding of streaming media among Malaysian audiences. This study employed the theory of uses and gratification to explain the audience’s motives for using streaming media to achieve gratification. This study aimed to identify OTT streaming media’s overall audience profile and compare the viewing trends of OTT media content based on demographic factors, namely gender, age, race, income, education, and marital status. The data were collected through surveys utilizing a combination of stratified and systematic sampling. A sum of 606 respondents in the Klang Valley participated in this research. This analysis was descriptive by explaining the trends and patterns regarding why OTT streaming media is a favourite of the Malaysian community. The study examined data descriptively using SPSS version 23. It, too, employed a one-way t-test and ANOVA to analyse six hypotheses formed based on theory and literature reviews. The outcomes of this study revealed that females were more likely to watch OTT streaming media than male. The study conclusions confirmed that only one hypothesis was successfully accepted in this study out of the six hypotheses developed. The study also reported positive and significant differences in trends based on OTT media viewing motives by race. Furthermore, this investigation addressed the directions for prospective studies.