English Entertainment
7 in 10 Indian movie buffs enjoy dubbed Hollywood films: Study
NEW DELHI: 70 per cent of Bollywood and regional movie fans enjoy watching dubbed versions of Hollywood films, a study by &flix and Nielsen has revealed. However, these viewers also face the problem of having limited options of movies in their preferred language.
The study titled ‘Hollywood is for everyone' interviewed 1500+ movie lovers in metro and non-metro cities and analysed consumer preferences, attitudes and behaviours, giving an insight into the lifestyles and mindsets of movie buffs in India. The findings reveal how Hollywood blockbusters and heroes act as a gateway for viewers to unlock unlimited possibilities.
The study further revealed that nine in ten movie lovers watch both English and Hindi/regional movies. When it comes to entertainment quotient, 91 per cent viewers prefer Hollywood flicks, because they have better power-packed action sequences and special effects.
An interesting fact that came to light is movie lovers stating that television is their preferred choice to experience Hollywood. 88 per cent respondents claimed that Hollywood VFX and superhero stunts are better enjoyed on TV than smartphones.
The study highlighted how viewing habits have changed as a result of the pandemic – 82 per cent respondents stated that TV viewing came closest to the big screen experience amid the lockdown. Moreover, 81 per cent of movie lovers found Hollywood films to be a great way for family bonding during these tough times.
Movie buffs also demand instant gratification. As per the study, eight out of ten respondents expressed displeasure in waiting for months before their favourite Hollywood films are screened on Indian TV channels.
The study also pointed out key characteristics of Hollywood enthusiasts – they earn 1.5x more than Bollywood/regional movie admirers, have a stronger presence on social media, and are brand-conscious individuals who seek new experiences.
ZEEL premium channels business head Kartik Mahadev said, "In the hyper-connected world we live in, Hollywood is closer to our homes and hearts now than ever before. Today, Hollywood movies aren’t just for the English-speaking audiences living in metros as we see movie enthusiasts in Bharat and India with the same level of passion and connectedness to the global fan following. This &flix study delves deeper into the mind of the movie fan and explores their culture that is fully immersed into the movie universe."
Drawing inspiration from the findings, Zee has recently announced a pan-network property 'Ticket to Hollywood' that brings the latest Hollywood movies in dubbed languages across Zee's leading movie channels.
Zee chief consumer officer Prathyusha Agarwal said, "At Zee, we have always recognized the diversity of the cultures and people that exist within India. The findings from the &flix consumer study are proof that Hollywood aficionados are spread across the 'many Bharats' today. They seek new experiences and have their finger on the pulse of the latest trends. By offering a 'Ticket to Hollywood' to these passionate fans, we at &flix continue to win in the many Bharats that coexist."
UK: The aerial is losing its grip. As broadband becomes the default way Britons watch television, the UK is edging towards a decisive, and divisive, question: should Freeview be switched off by 2034? The issue, highlighted in reporting by The Guardian, has exposed deep fault lines over access, affordability and the future of public service broadcasting.
For nearly 25 years, Freeview has delivered free-to-air television from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 to almost every corner of the country. Even now, it remains the UK’s largest TV platform, used in more than 16m homes and on around 10m main household sets. Yet the same broadcasters that built it are now pressing for its closure within eight years.
Their case rests on a structural shift in viewing. Smart TVs, superfast broadband and the Netflix-led streaming boom have pulled audiences online. Advertising economics have followed. By 2034, the number of homes using Freeview as their main TV set is forecast to fall from a peak of almost 12m in 2012 to fewer than 2m, making digital terrestrial television, or DTT, increasingly costly to sustain.
But critics say the rush to switch off risks abandoning those least able, or least willing, to move online.
“I don’t want to be choosing apps and making new accounts,” says Lynette, 80, from Kent. “It is time-consuming and irritating trying to work out where I want to be, to remember the sequence of clicks, with hieroglyphics instead of words. If I make a mistake I have to start again.”
Lynette is among nearly 100,000 people who have signed a “save Freeview” petition launched by campaign group Silver Voices. She fears the government is about to “take [Freeview] away from me and others who either don’t like, can’t afford, or can’t use online versions”.
Official figures underline the fault lines. A report commissioned by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport estimates that by 2035, 1.8m homes will still depend on Freeview. Ofcom’s analysis shows those households are more likely to be disabled, older, living alone, female, and based in the north of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Freeview is owned by the public service broadcasters through Everyone TV, which also operates Freesat and the newer streaming platform Freely. After two years of review, DCMS is expected to set out its position soon, drawing on three options proposed by Ofcom: a costly upgrade of Freeview’s ageing technology; maintaining a bare-bones service with only core PSB channels; or a full switch-off during the 2030s.
The broadcasters have rallied behind the third option. They argue that 2034 is the logical cut-off, when transmission contracts with network operator Arqiva expire. By then, they say, the cost of broadcasting to a dwindling audience will far outweigh the returns from TV advertising.
Ofcom agrees a crunch point is approaching. In July, the regulator warned of a “tipping point” within the next few years, after which it will no longer be commercially viable for broadcasters to carry the costs of DTT.
Others see risks beyond economics. Questions remain over whether internet TV can reliably deliver emergency broadcasts, such as the daily Covid updates, in the way that universally available DTT can. The UK radio industry has also warned that an internet-only future for TV could push up distribution costs and force some radio stations off air if PSBs no longer share Arqiva’s mast network.
“It is a political hot potato,” says Dennis Reed, founder of Silver Voices, who says he has “dissociated” his organisation from the government’s stakeholder forum, which he believes is “heavily biased” towards streaming.
The Future TV Taskforce, representing the PSBs, counters that moving online could “close the digital divide once and for all”. “We want to be able to plan to ensure that no one is left behind,” a spokesperson says, adding that rising DTT costs could otherwise mean cuts to programme budgets.
The numbers show the scale of the challenge. Of the 1.8m Freeview-dependent homes projected for 2035, around 1.1m are expected to have broadband but not use it for TV. The remaining 700,000 are forecast to lack a broadband connection altogether.
Veterans of the analogue switch-off, completed in 2012 after 76 years, recall similar fears of “TV blackout chaos”. Around 6 per cent of households were labelled “digital refuseniks”, yet a targeted help scheme and a national campaign, fronted by a robot called Digit Al voiced by Matt Lucas, delivered a largely smooth transition.
This time, the BBC is less keen to foot the bill. Tim Davie, the outgoing director general, has said the corporation should not fund a comparable support programme for a Freeview switch-off.
Research for Sky by Oliver & Ohlbaum suggests that with early awareness campaigns and digital inclusion measures, only about 330,000 households would ultimately need hands-on help ahead of a 2034 shutdown.
Meanwhile, viewing habits continue to fragment. Audience body Barb says 7 per cent of UK households no longer own a TV set, choosing to watch on other devices. In December, YouTube overtook the BBC’s combined channels in total UK viewing across TVs, smartphones and tablets, albeit measured at a minimum of three minutes.
That shift may accelerate. YouTube has recently blocked Barb and its partner Kantar from accessing viewing session data, limiting transparency just as online platforms consolidate power.
“When the government chose British Satellite Broadcasting as the ‘winner’ in satellite TV it was Rupert Murdoch’s Sky instead that came out on top,” says a senior TV executive quoted by The Guardian. “There already is such an outsider ready to be the winner in the transition to internet TV; it is YouTube.”
Freeview’s future now hangs on a familiar British dilemma: modernise fast and risk exclusion, or protect universality and pay the price. Either way, the aerial’s days as king of the living room look numbered.
