What Drives User Stickiness and Satisfaction in OTT Video Streaming Platforms? A Mixed-Method Exploration

Globally, over-the-top (OTT) video-streaming platforms are proliferating. While it has increased in popularity, there is limited academic research into its usage. However, there is a limited understanding of gratifications associated with them. This study employs a mixed-research design in two phases for model development. In Phase-1, a qualitative study using in-depth interviews was conducted to uncover major gratifications connected to OTT video-streaming platforms. The study identified six different gratifications of OTT (entertainment, escape, modality, navigability, passing time, and personalization). Based on the findings from Phase-1 and relevant literature, this research builds a model integrating uses and gratifications, affective media satisfaction, and stickiness. In Phase-2, the research model is empirically validated by analyzing survey data. The result of the study suggests that entertainment, modality, navigability, and escape have a significant positive association with affective media satisfaction. Similarly, modality, pass time, escape, and personalization gratifications are associated with stickiness. In addition, affective media satisfaction mediates the relationship between entertainment and navigability with stickiness. The study contributes to the literature by integrating gratifications, satisfaction, and stickiness in a single framework and provides valuable implications for researchers and practitioners in mass digital media in general and OTT video streaming platforms in specific.