More and more people across the Asia Pacific region are getting into the habit of streaming. According to a report from SpotX in 2021, over 400 million people are now using OTT video streaming services in the region, with over 69% of video viewers watching streaming videos at least once a week. 

With the surge of viewership driven by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, homegrown Asian OTT platforms have continuously been innovating to meet the demand for more content. And as streaming becomes more prevalent, consumers’ viewing habits have become even broader. 

Opportunities for growth

Jyotirmoy Saha, Founder of mass-market subscription video-on-demand service POPTV observed that viewership is still driven by content that people can relate to, with themes and subjects close to people’s hearts. He said that while there are big players, it’s unlikely that they are going to be the biggest local players in every market and that there will always be space for smaller, local players. 

“I think we count ourselves among that. We are not in competition with Netflix. We love the fact that Netflix is in the Philippines because they help in driving a behaviour change,” Jyotirmoy said. “From our perspective, that is one. Also, markets in Southeast Asia are very unique because of a lot of behaviour traits that people have.” 

Meanwhile, Jeff Han, WeTV Director and Vice President of Tencent Online Video said that the Asian market is the cornerstone for WeTV. He remains optimistic about the economic recovery in Asian markets following the pandemic, and with government plans to improve internet infrastructures, the demand for high-quality and rich content has never been healthier. 

Jeff revealed that WeTV achieved a significant milestone in 2021 with the streaming service garnering 60 million downloads globally. In the same period, WeTV also saw an impressive leap of 95% in WeTV VIP users and a 67% spike in MAU, which continues to grow exponentially year-on-year. 

In 2022, WeTV plans to drive growth to be able to meet the content demands of Southeast Asia’s population by producing high-quality and rich content that includes Chinese, Thai, and Indonesian drama series, as well as other mainstream content categories that Asian users have interests in. They also plan to work closely with local production houses and artists to produce WeTV Originals. 

“WeTV attracts an international audience and provides entertainment films across a wide variety of genres,” Jeff said. “We will continue to deepen our cooperation with partners like leading advertising agencies to provide brands [with plenty] of opportunities to optimize their exposure through our platform.” 

On the other hand, iWant TFC, the OTT platform owned by the Philippines’ ABS-CBN Corp. has been quite busy in the last two years investing in a modern and scalable foundation. Eugenio “Jamie” Lopez IV, ABS-CBN Head of Digital said that the company has synergized AVOD, FAST, TVOD and SVOD to “define a best-in-breed” approach for each market. 

Jamie said that ABS-CBN is revitalizing its library with three key areas of focus: content acquisition, co-production, and global penetration. Jamie shared, “Our investments in people, tooling and tech now afford us great flexibility to bring our deep and popular library to new and old audiences in a more appealing way.” 

A robust market presence

With OTT becoming a huge part of people’s everyday lives, how do these platforms ensure that they stand out in the market? For players like POPTV, it’s delivering content to commuters through POPTV Trip which was launched in late 2021. 

Addressing the need for on-demand content in the Philippines where internet speeds can be quite unreliable and expensive, POPTV Trip is the country’s first in-transit streaming service. Jyotirmoy said that POPTV is expecting to wire up about 20,000 buses around the country by the end of 2024, and along with its proprietary tech, users may be able to use the POPTV service as they would in a high-speed broadband scenario. 

Apart from POPTV Trip, the company is also planning to bring in content that is very rarely available in the Philippines, along with plans of doing local productions. Jyotirmoy shared that POPTV adheres to a two-pronged strategy of content and distribution. He said, “I think what we are trying to do is that fortunately for the operations that we’ve had so far, and the usage, we’ve been able to collect a lot of data in terms of what people are watching. We are going to try to micro-target our audiences by specifically choosing what kind of content or setup people are looking for.”  

There is no doubt that there is a growing appetite for Chinese-language content in the region, and WeTV has seen a gradual increase in the quality and production capacity of Chinese content in the last several years. Jeff said, “As one of the largest video content producers in China, Tencent Video has secured a rich, high-quality lineup of Chinese content across diverse categories including dramas, variety shows, and animation for our viewers this year.” 

Not only is WeTV betting on Chinese-language content, but they are also producing a lineup of highly-anticipated WeTV Originals every year. Collaborating with local production teams, artists and directors across many Asian countries, WeTV’s “local for local” content has gained traction amongst young, active new subscribers. Jeff said that WeTV feels confident that this quality content will continue to attract more local subscribers as they increase their market share in the region. For instance, Indonesia and Thailand can look forward to locally-produced content such as Kawin Tangan and the Thai romance drama, I Feel You Linger In The Air. 

Aside from this, WeTV has also partnered with top telcos in the region and global device providers to ensure that current and new subscribers receive superior visual experiences. Some brands that have partnered with WeTV include PT Telekom Indonesia, AIS Thailand, Apple, Samsung, and Xiaomi. 

Positioned as “The Home of Filipino Stories”, iWantTFC prides itself in the biggest library of loved content from series, live channels, movies, and originals that reflect Filipino culture, history, values, and aspirations. Jamie said, “Our iWant Originals [allow viewers] to discover bright new creators and artists–Filipino talents who are not afraid to experiment with themes and formats.” He also revealed that iWantTFC is partnering with content providers from around the world to further cater to viewers’ evolving tastes. 

Betting big on original productions and localized content

Among the many things that owe to the success of many platforms is their captivating content, and that is why they constantly need to keep evolving to cater to the discerning tastes of today’s viewers. 

POPTV is focusing on its content acquisition showcasing Filipino productions on its service. Jyotirmoy said, “We are very keen to make sure that we are a very local service, we are not expecting our audiences to come to us to view international content, they come to us to watch content that’s close to their heart.”

“Our core business is content creation,” Jyotirmoy continued. “Our platform is just a means of helping us reach our content directly to our audiences. We have plans, but plans are paired and commensurate to the size of the market and the size of the OTT-watching crowd.” 

Jyotirmoy promised that POPTV will create a lot of content, and adapt international content which works well in markets like the Philippines as well as new formats. 

And it’s not just in the Philippines where adaptations are hitting it big. WeTV also has a slew of original projects in the pipeline, including The Wife, a Thai adaptation based on a popular Thai novel that has garnered a lot of attention in the past two decades. Other WeTV Originals planned are Indonesia’s My Lecture My Husband Season 2, and Little Mom Season 2 which enjoyed a successful run during its first season. 

In 2022, WeTV plans to achieve more milestones. “WeTV aims to become the go-to streaming platform for global users and partners in the region in 2022 and beyond,” Jeff said. 

Meanwhile, iWantTFC is gearing up to present the next season of the iWant Original, He’s Into Her which enjoyed a lot of success thanks to its stellar cast and crew and interesting storyline. Jamie said, “[There are more] iWant Originals in the pipeline for production, with titles spanning different themes and genres.” He also revealed that the platform is continuing its partnership with GMMTV for the Boys Love Thai series which resonates well with Filipino audiences.

While iWantTFC has faced many challenges in the past few years, Jamie said that their team is working hard to improve its content and platform offerings. Content-wise, iWantTFC has sharpened its content curations and recommendations, and it looked for various partners and collaborators, both local and global so that its subscribers can enjoy more titles. 

Platform-wise, iWantTFC is doubling down on a smoother user interface, such as the Watch Now, Register Later function, which helped the platform usher in a more casual, curious audience. Apart from this, iWantTFC is made more accessible with a progressive web app so viewers can enjoy watching their favourite content without having to download the mobile app. Jamie revealed that these changes have been positive for the platform as its MAU grew 55% in January 2022 versus September 2020. 

A version of this story appears in the March-April 2022 issue of Television Asia Plus.