The paid television scene in Vietnam is among the double-digit growth sectors with pay-TV channels available in four of country’s largest cities. According to MHS 2010-2014 survey, it’s amongst the healthiest in the world, posting impressive subscriber growth, an expanding universe of consumer choice and a surge in advertising revenue. Vietnam’s nascent pay-TV market now tops four million subscribers and is forecast to grow 17% a year through 2015.
The domestic pay-TV sector’s annual market revenue is expected to grow 25% in 2012 to $2.5 billion. The number of channels in Vietnam’s major markets is also growing by double digits over the years.
Cable TV is supreme in the nation with penetration in several of the country’s major markets. Cable dominates in Vietnam’s two leading markets with a remarkable 88% of the TV population in Ho Chi Minh City and 86% in Hanoi. From 2006 to 2012, growth in the cable TV market has exploded 300% to three million subscribers across the country. Major cable operators now offer between 60 and 100 channels each.
Vietnam TV market showcases policies and regulations that are favorable to local content players and these regulations are governed by the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC). The state owned players control majority of the market. The competition level in Vietnam is currently low, due to the skewed nature of the regulation in Vietnam.
In 2013, VTV held a dominant control over the pay-TV market. Vietnam Television (VTV) with its diverse subsidiaries – SCTV, VTVcab along with its joint venture partnership with K+ (DTH) held 65% of pay TV market share.
Terrestrial TV commands the highest share in the market with two nation-wide broadcasters VTV and VTC. In addition, there are several broadcasters having smaller scale operations. AVG provides terrestrial pay-TV services in 15 provinces.
With the launch of Vinasat in 2008, DTH FTA and pay-TV services by VTC, K+ and most recently AVG have evolved rapidly in the market. Cable TV subscribers are so far concentrated in the central areas of big cities. VTV captures a combined cable market share of greater than 80%.
Pay-TV services will witness fierce competition and service fee price battle as major telecom providers FPT Telecom and Viettel are vying for a piece of the pay-TV market. Viettel and FPT telecom have launched their cable TV operations in 2014 and can quickly transition into a 4play provider complemented by vast fiber infrastructure.
Singapore based Bomanbridge Media announced two format deals in Asia recently ahead of Vietnam’s TV content market Tele-Film held in June this year. Beauty Academy, created by A2G Creations, has been licensed by Lasta Multimedia in Vietnam. The format previously sold in China on Dragon TV, and in Brazil on Globo TV. “Bomanbridge Media has licensed other successful formats in the region such as NHK’s Dr. What and Miss Country Girl to China and are pleased to add the popular formats, Beauty Academy and DNA to the list. We look forward to working closely with Lasta Multimedia to help them create winning versions of these shows,” said Sonia Fleck, CEO of Bomanbridge Media. “We bring hot formats to the region, as Asian broadcasters continue to have an appetite for the genre.”
“The ultimate test for an International TV format is in its ability to travel to distant lands, take on local flavours without losing its fundamental characteristics. We’re delighted that TV Networks in South Asia are increasingly looking to us to bring them these winning formulas for non-fiction programming,” said Arpit Agarwal, Head of Bomanbridge South Asia office.
Creative Content Association Malaysia (CCAM) arrived, representing ten members at Tele- Film. The government supported body solely looks into opportunities to export local content to the world.
Dato’ Mohd Mahyidin Mustakim, CEO of the association explained that the Malaysian government provides the operating expenses and his team facilitates the export drive of local content. “We identify the new markets such as Vietnam where there is potential for Malaysian content to travel. We also organise network sessions where distributors, sales agents and potential co-producers can meet for possible collaborations. Besides, we also function as a onestop centre for international operators looking into alliance with Malaysian companies which is provided at no cost,” he explained.
Participating at Tele-Film for the third time, Dato foresees growth in the Vietnam market. “The Viennese government is welcoming more foreign content to be broadcasted here and has already attracted 17 regional players its market. Their broadcast strategy and approach has changed over the years and has certainly open more doors for foreign content such as us. As for us, besides approaching the Vietnam operators, we are also talking to sellers to distribute Malaysian content to the region. It makes more sense as we are primarily here pushing our local content,” he added.
Some foreign channels and networks currently available in Vietnam’s subscription stream includes: HBO, Deutsche Welle, FOX, National Geography, Sony Pictures, Multichannel, Cartoon Network and MGM. Asian networks that have made inward route into the nation’s tough licensing bodies are Astro, KBS, MediaCorp, TVB and Indian channels.
This year, the world leader in outdoor entertainment made its debut in Vietnam – Outdoor Channel (Asia) secured three exclusive carriage deals in the country. First the channel made waves with Vietnam Post and Telecommunication Group’s MyTV, Viettel and FPT Telecom. In June, the channel was again in the spotlight for its covenant with Saigon Cable Television (SCTV), Vietnam’s largest cable TV platform. Since its launch in late 2014, the Multichannel team has been swiftly working the Asian market. Heading Multichannel success in 16 countries in Asia is Gregg Creevey, its Managing Director.
“There is great potential in Vietnam as this is a young market. First we did not expect to penetrate into Vietnam as licensing could be an issue here. When it was approved, we decided to take programming from the pan-regional feed with subtitles, making it as local as possible to blend in with the audience. A Vietnamese website was soon launched to direct viewers.
“With the latest carriage agreement, we are approaching 2 million pay- TV households in Vietnam via multiplatform – cable, satellite and IPTV. Vietnam is fast growing into one of Outdoor Channel’s most important markets and this deal with SCTV marks the largest expansion during our fifth year anniversary. We have now crossed an important milestone and together with our partners, Thaole, we plan to open up media sales for Outdoor Channel. Vietnam is going to figure very prominently in the next stage of growth,” added Gregg.
Outdoor Channel has some new inspirational and emotional stories in the lineup which includes feature film Chasing The Dream featuring Oney Anwar’s struggle from backwaters of Indonesia to world class professional surfer; ESPN series Search4Hurt that looks at individuals who will themselves through extreme pain to their absolute limits; and Fight To Survive, true life stories of outdoorsmen and women who recount their near death encounters before surviving against the odds to retell their tales.
Together with other shows, such as Alaska’s Ultimate Bush Pilots and comedic series The Reluctant Outdoorsman, Outdoor Channel will be working with its pay-TV affiliates to obtain viewers’ submission of personal outdoor stories via social media as part of a pan-regional contest built around the #WhatsYourStory theme.
Gregg said, “Chasing The Dream, Search4Hurt and Fight to Survive, Alaska’s Ultimate Bush Pilots and The Reluctant Outdoorsman are chockfull of remarkable stories of blood, sweat and tears and serve as a great reminder to inspire and unite our community to marvel at the amazing human spirit as these personalities take on their respective journeys to overcome their personal difficulties and challenges.”
Gregg also acknowledged the birth of another channel to be launched later this year. Love Nature is an Asia-Pacific initiative intruding into the factual documentary space. He is excited and says there are many early and established content providers in this genre. Yet, he believes overtime viewers will appreciate the different lineup in programming Love Nature can offer.
Deutsche Welle (DW) has expanded its partnership with Vietnamese telecommunications provider FPT. The cooperation will add DW’s new English channel to the lineup on FPT’s OTT service. The launch via FPT Play this June delivers DW to another 5 million users across Vietnam. DW and FPT launched a Facebook campaign this July which already has more than 30,000 viewers.
The English channel is also available on FPT’s IPTV service. DW on FPT Play is an extension from FPT’s IPTV platform. Its programming includes a lineup of popular shows with Vietnamese subtitling: Arts.21, Close Up, Documentaries and Reports, Discover Germany, Drive it!, Global 3000, In Good Shape, Life Links and Tomorrow Today will all be broadcast, enabling non- English speaking audiences to enjoy DW’s quality programming.
Petra Schneider, DW’s Director of Distribution said, “We are excited about this collaboration with FPT as it enables our target audience in Vietnam to access our unique programming via FPT Play app that is reachable through mobile, smart TV and the internet.”
At the core of the English Channel’s programming is DW News which provides audiences around the globe with international news and information around the clock. DW News is the flagship programme of the network with full coverage of all the main stories and breaking news from politics, business, sports to culture. The channel provides fascinating new insights into the people and places beyond the headlines.