Indians want free online content to remain free

BANGALORE, INDIA: Nine out of 10 Indian Internet users want free online content remain free in the future. However, they are ready to pay for the content which includes books, magazines, professional product videos and television shows, revealed a survey by The Nielsen Company, a global consultancy firm.

A PTI report, quoting the study, said that nine out of 10 Indians believed that free content on the Internet should remain free in the future, while three fourth of those surveyed are willing to pay for the content if the quality is better than the free one currently online.

About 63 per cent will pay for the content if the payment system is easy to use and 61 per cent Indians are willing to pay for the same content online if the costs are comparable with what they currently pay offline for it.

The Nielsen survey covered more than 27,000 consumers in 54 countries globally and examined consumer attitudes to paying for online content. The results of the study showed 29 per cent Indians have already paid for books, while 19 per cent have paid for online magazines, and 18 per cent have paid for music.

“Internet is a huge space and content is available for free at the click of a button. Out there exists immense quantity of information but most of it lacks in quality, and this stress on quality by consumers will be a major factor in driving consumers to pay for online content,” PTI quoted Karthik Nagarajan, associate director – Nielsen Online, The Nielsen Company, as saying.

The survey noted that nearly seven in 10 Indians (69 per cent) would rather pay for individual pieces of content, instead of subscribing to the entire website.

Meanwhile it is found that a majority of consumers in India are not prepared to pay for consumer-generated content such as blogs (70 per cent), social communities (61 per cent), and consumer-generated videos (60 per cent).