Report: Netflix 40% of SE Asia SVoD consumption

Premium video platforms in Southeast Asia, led by Netflix, Viu, WeTV, iQIYI and Vidio, captured 10 per cent of total video streaming minutes in Q1 2021, according to a study published by Media Partners Asia (MPA).

The quarterly report, titled Southeast Asia Online Video Consumer Insights & Analytics: A Definitive Study, leverages MPA’s proprietary AMPD Research Platform to measure the video streaming economy in five Southeast Asian (SEA) markets: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

Netflix’s Mine
Commenting on the report’s findings, MPA Analyst Dhivya T said: “With streaming minutes growing each quarter, we find that the battle for consumer time is not zero-sum, but certainly competitive for smaller streaming platforms. In Thailand, for example, Line TV consumption has softened significantly as new Thai titles are no longer limited to Line TV but also available on WeTV, Viu and so on. New breakout titles are critical to capture and sustain consumption share – this is evident with WeTV and Vidio originals in Indonesia, Disney+ in Singapore, Viu and Netflix’s new Korean titles across the region and iQIYI in Malaysia and Thailand.”

Southeast Asia added 4.9 million new SVoD subscriptions in Q1 2021 to reach a cumulative subscriber base of 24.2 mil. Key drivers of growth include:

· Disney+/Disney+ Hotstar added ~2 mil. subscribers in Q1 2021, driven by growth in Indonesia and a successful launch in Singapore in late-Feb. Disney has overtaken Viu to occupy second place in Southeast Asia after Netflix with a cumulative 4.6 mil. subs. While consumption has slowed significantly in Indonesia, consumption and uptake is expected to grow steadily in Singapore with the expansion of Disney+’s Star content and release of new Marvel original series. SEA is also expected to benefit from Q2 launches in Malaysia and Thailand

· Viu grew considerably in Q1, largely due to traction in the Philippines where Viu’s partnership with Smart boosted subscriber growth through a strong local marketing campaign. The strength of Viu’s first-window Korean drama slate and telco integrations (data packages, sachet pricing, direct carrier billing) across Southeast Asia helps sustain subscriber uptake.

· AIS Play experienced strong uptake of its Family pack in Q1. The pack is promotionally bundled as a free top up for AIS mobile and fibre customers and leverages linear pay channels and corresponding VoD.

· Netflix remains the SVoD leader in SEA, with significant penetration in the Philippines and Thailand. Growth is largely organic and driven by the popularity of Korean and US content.

· Vidio’s growth in Q1 was boosted by the return of key sports including local football Liga 1 and UEFA Champions League and originals dramas.

· WeTV’s growth is concentrated in Thailand and Indonesia. In Thailand, WeTV’s premium Chinese drama and variety series are gaining popularity while WeTV’s hit local originals in Indonesia drove subscriber uptake.

· MNC Group’s freemium platform Vision+ added 0.2 million subscribers in Q1 2021, a combination of MNC’s pay-TV linked and new direct customers.

· iQIYI’s subs growth was driven by Malaysia, where a partnership with Astro provides discounted iQIYI subscription to Astro pay-TV customers. iQIYI’s premium Chinese dramas and variety is steadily gaining popularity across SEA. Advanced Television