Why Gen Z Is Ditching Traditional Indian Serials for OTT Platforms

Each new generation has its own worldview, often expressed through the media it watches. Television, once the great unifier of India, did the trick. Every evening, families would get together to watch stories that reflected their daily experiences and promoted shared cultural ideals. However, as technology advanced, the ways people connect with narratives evolved.

Gen Z has grown up surrounded by screens. They take in information quickly and in more personal, interactive ways. What once aired on a fixed TV schedule is now available anytime. This blurs the line between creator and viewer, and local and global. The transition from TV to digital isn’t merely about convenience. It has altered the way people consume, share and discuss stories, and the way they perceive themselves and others.

Background of Indian Serials

Early Indian television, dominated by Doordarshan, mainly featured educational and public service content, often seen as dull and didactic (Pandey & Das, 2019). Programming relied heavily on Hindi films until the mid-1980s, when locally produced serials like Hum Log, India’s first long-running soap, sparked a programming revolution by offering relatable stories with clear conclusions.

After introducing satellite TV and with the economic liberalisation of the 90s, Indian television shifted from being a government medium for messaging and education to one for amusement and financial gain. The enormously successful “saas-bahu” concept evolved with shows such as Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki. These serials were centred around women in the middle of big joint families, spinning tales of passion, competition and day-to-day conflict. Numerous television programs drew inspiration from Hindu epics, portraying family conflicts while preserving virtues like devotion, responsibility and tenacity (Munshi, 2020).

Characteristics of Gen Z

Digital Native: As Gen Z grew up under advanced technology, they are digital natives because they have constant access to and on-demand entertainment. Nearly 98% of them possess a smartphone and spend at least three hours daily online (Marne, 2021).
Content Curators: Gen Z does not sit passively consuming what networks provide but actively discovers and curates content (Matrix, 2014).
Streaming Platform Preference: They favour OTT platforms over traditional television.
FOMO (Fear of Missing Out): This generation “indulge-watches” media to stay socially connected and participate in conversations (Matrix, 2014).
Attention Span: Gen Z selectively chooses content and has a short concentration span due to rapid digital renewal (Wibowo, Syafuddin, & Elmada, 2024).
Media Motivation: Gen Z viewers are described to be aware of their needs and use media to satisfy specific wants (Ayten, Bulat & İnceismail, 2019).
Preference for Relatability and Critique: They favour content that offers closeness and familiarity, such as Stand-Up Comedy, which is highly preferred because it covers topics from everyday life and often includes criticism or the voice of the community’s anxiety. They appreciate media that helps them reflect and think critically

Factors Contributing to Gen Z Disengagement

1. Change in Viewing Habits Facilitated by Digital Technology

Gen Z has unique expectations for watching media from previous generations (Wibowo, Syafuddin, & Elmada, 2024).

Flexibility Preference: Gen Z audiences prefer flexible content viewing, at any time, anywhere. They use personal mobile technology devices (such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops) to view television shows (Ayten, Bulat & İnceismail, 2019).
Indulge Watching Culture: Gen Z has adopted new viewing habits defined by OTT platforms such as “indulge watching” and “indulge racing” (Matrix, 2014). They prefer to watch content in larger doses at a time, often consuming complete seasons in one sitting.
“Roamer” Behaviour: Gen Z audiences are characterised as “roamers” who shift between different streaming platforms to satisfy their entertainment needs (Wibowo, Syafuddin & Elmada, 2024)

2. Dissatisfaction with the Traditional Television Model

Traditional television, which includes many Indian serials, suffers from structural drawbacks that alienate the digitally accustomed Gen Z audience:

Aversion to Advertisements: Gen Z viewers often prefer streaming to avoid commercials. Lengthy advertisements are considered a major distraction in television programs, and many viewers hate commercials entirely (Hemanthkumar & Kallur, 2016).
Content Repetitiveness: The youth population is tired of the repetitive drama and plot found in traditional TV soaps (Marne, 2021). Mainstream Indian shows are often criticised for this.
Poor Quality of Local Programming: Compared to Indian serials, domestic (Bangladeshi) TV serials were mostly unpopular among Gen Z students (91% replied to not watching them) due to reasons such as poor quality (19% of non-viewers), being less attractive (28%), reliance on a copy-paste formula (20%) and extra advertisements (24%) (Tarannum & Siddiqa, 2024). This suggests a perceived lack of quality in local traditional media, which drives the shift.
Negative Societal Impact: Indian drama serials have been found to encourage premarital and extramarital affairs, promote criminal activities and foster family strife.

They are often perceived as depicting conspiracy, domestic violence and extra-marital affairs (Pandey & Das, 2019).

3. Attraction to Quality and Variety

The content available on OTT platforms appeals directly to Gen Z’s demand for engaging and novel material.

1. Original and Unique Content

Streaming services are favoured for providing content that is perceived as original or interesting. Web series offer themes overlooked by traditional television, such as social relevance topics, crime thrillers or psychologically provoking stories (Marne, 2021). While traditional serials often revolve around family politics and melodramas (Pandey & Das, 2019), Gen Z prefers genres often found on streaming platforms.

For instance, surveyed female students (age 18-25) ranked Thriller (33%), Romance (19%) and Horror/Fantasy (17%) as their top serial categories (Tarannum & Siddiqa, 2024). In another study focused on entertainment broadcasts, Stand-Up Comedy was the most favoured genre, followed by films and talk shows, because the content is relatable and often includes critical social commentary (Wibowo, Syafuddin & Elmada, 2024).

2. High Production Quality

Indian serials shown on traditional TV are contrasted with Indian serials viewed on OTT platforms, which offer good quality, modern technology, superior production quality, storyline and “HD look” (Tarannum & Siddiqa, 2024).

3. Social Connection

The transition is, at other times, inspired by FOMO, which forces Gen Z to watch trending shows in bulk so they can engage in gossip and cliques, frequently communicated through social media. They are pushed by “just-in-time fandom” to watch media that is causing social discourse, irrespective of its source (Matrix, 2014).

4. Exposure and Embracing Foreign Cultures

Social media-driven globalisation allows for the blurring of various societies. Its ubiquity affects young audiences’ lifestyle, language and cultural values directly, in some cases replacing local with foreign norms.

Adoption of Western Values: Traditional serials themselves, particularly Indian and Pakistani shows, have been noted to import Western values (Pandey & Das, 2019). But direct consumption of content from the US and Korea, for instance, hastens this development.
Learning and Imitation: As per Social Learning Theory, people acquire knowledge rapidly through observing, imitating and modelling behaviours. Studies found that female students influenced by media imitate the exaggerated lifestyles, dress up like actresses and sometimes converse in foreign languages. This mechanism applies equally to the adoption of fashion, lifestyles and aesthetics from American, Korean or Japanese shows seen on streaming services (Ayten, Bulat & İnceismail, 2019).
Korean Content Influence: The growing popularity of K-dramas is utilised as a global model for studying soap operas to expose their applicability to modern evolving media (Chanda & Chhotaray, 2024). The globalisation of cultural goods, including the K-pop band BTS, demonstrates how social media spreads global entertainment and enhances its marketing value globally.

Emerging Trends in Indian Entertainment for Gen Z

The new trends in Indian entertainment are characterised by a break from conventional, timed consumption to online streaming sites and on-demand viewing. The priorities of these trends include flexibility, high-quality production, varying and unconventional themes and social media dependence for discovery.

Shift from Traditional TV: OTT growth is cutting down linear television watching dramatically (Sahoo, 2024). Gen Z prefers OTT platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime for consistent watching.
Accessibility: OTT provides convenience in watching content, and it is pleasing to Gen Z.
Pandemic as a Catalyst: The Covid-19 pandemic saw cinema closures accelerating the shift to OTT channels (Marne, 2021).
Lower Cost: OTT channels are usually cheaper than conventional cable, and the lowering price of internet data has served to promote adoption as well (Marne, 2021).
Emphasis on Reality and Sincerity: Successful web shows such as Sacred Games, Made in Heaven and Mirzapur work because they are usually centred around real happenings or real life or are based on best-selling novels (Marne, 2021).
Freedom from Censorship: The streaming medium provides freedom from censorship and murky box office numbers, enabling creators to address complex or audacious themes, for instance, normalising homosexuality in web series (Marne, 2021).
Social Media: Social media is the pioneer of awareness, with 75.4% of surveyed participants reporting that they get to know about web content from social media platforms (Marne, 2021).
Growth in Regional Content: The market increasingly sees ethnic language variations and local tastes coming to the forefront. Examples include Hoichoi (a dedicated Bengali OTT service) and Sun NXT (for the South Indian regional market). Regional content yields better uptake in terms of engagement, and more than three-fourths of new consumers are coming from Tier II and Tier III towns who seek content in their own language (Munshi, 2020).

Conclusion

The shifting viewing preferences of Gen Z signal a huge cultural and communicative transformation. What was formerly a one-way medium ruled by TV is now a participatory environment where consumers are the masters of choice, critique and creation. This change is an expression of a deeper need for authenticity, representation and control over one’s narratives, which form the foundation of Gen Z’s culture.

As India’s entertainment economy goes from strength to strength, the onus on it is to balance tradition and innovation, emotion and realism, and communal storytelling and personal autonomy. The story of media transformation, therefore, is not only about the transition from screens, but about the change in modes of looking, relating and belonging.

FAQs

1. How has Indian television evolved?

Indian television began with Doordarshan’s educational and state-driven content, later shifting towards entertainment with the rise of satellite TV in the 1990s. Serials like Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi popularised family-based melodramas rooted in cultural values. Over time, however, these repetitive and moralistic narratives lost appeal, especially among younger audiences seeking realism and diversity.

2. What defines Gen Z’s approach to media?

Gen Z are true digital natives who prefer flexible, interactive, and personalised content. They value authenticity and actively curate what they watch rather than following traditional schedules. Their short attention spans and preference for relatable, thought-provoking material make them gravitate toward online platforms and social media-based entertainment.

3. Why is Gen Z turning away from traditional Indian serials?

Gen Z finds TV serials repetitive, unrealistic and overly dramatic. They dislike advertisements, rigid schedules and moral preaching. In contrast, streaming platforms offer creative, uncensored and socially relevant content that aligns with their values and desire for control over what, when and how they watch.

4. How does global media influence Gen Z’s preferences?

Global exposure through social media and streaming has made Gen Z receptive to Western and Korean storytelling styles. They often adopt the fashion, language and values seen in international shows, leading to a mix of global and local sensibilities. This has raised expectations for originality and quality in Indian entertainment.

5. What trends define Indian entertainment for Gen Z today?

OTT platforms now dominate, offering affordable, high-quality and diverse content. Shows like Sacred Games and Made in Heaven reflect Gen Z’s preference for realism, creative freedom and complex themes. Social media drives content discovery, while regional platforms like Hoichoi highlight the growing demand for authentic local storytelling.

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