Impact of Digital Piracy and Anti-Piracy Measures on the Business Performance of OTT Platforms in India

Abstract

The rapid growth of Over-the-Top (OTT) platforms has transformed the consumption of movies, web series, television programmes and other digital entertainment content in India. However, digital piracy has emerged as a major challenge affecting the revenue, subscriber growth, profitability and long-term sustainability of OTT platforms. The present study examined the impact of digital piracy on the business performance of OTT platforms in India. It also analysed the relationship between the challenges experienced by users while accessing pirated OTT content and the performance of legitimate OTT platforms. Digital piracy allows users to access premium content through illegal websites, mobile applications, torrents, messaging platforms and unauthorized streaming links without paying subscription charges. The study was based on primary data collected from 80 respondents through a structured questionnaire. Pearson’s correlation analysis was applied to test the proposed hypotheses. The findings revealed a strong and statistically significant negative relationship between the use of digital piracy and OTT platform business performance, with a correlation coefficient of −0.607 and a p-value of 0.000. The findings also showed a moderate and statistically significant positive relationship between challenges in using pirated OTT content and OTT platform business performance, with a correlation coefficient of 0.469 and a p-value of 0.000. The study concluded that increased digital piracy adversely affects OTT platform performance, whereas difficulties and risks associated with pirated content may encourage consumers to use legitimate OTT platforms. Therefore, effective anti-piracy technologies, legal