Eclat Media Group’s SPOTV is making significant progress as it continues to expand in Southeast Asia. The pay-TV channel, which specialises in broadcasting sporting content, recently announced several key distribution deals with Asian pay-TV partners Now TV in Hong Kong, First Media in Indonesia, and Cignal TV in the Philippines. 

Speaking about SPOTV’s rapid growth in the region, Rubin Zhong, Chief Content Strategy Officer at SPOTV shared, “Given that we managed to put this project together in four months, from bidding for the content rights in July 2021 to launching the channel in October 2021, and then securing affiliates across eight Asian territories, I think we have had a great start.” 

SPOTV’s acquisition strategy is geared towards appealing to the unique palate of Southeast Asian sports fans, Rubin said. For instance, the MotoGP is a property that has a huge following in key markets such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand; while Badminton World Federation (BWF) events are keenly watched.

“We then go on a localisation drive by providing localised commentary for WBF events and MotoGP races to our audience, either through remote commentary means or working through our affiliates,” Rubin shared. “We also send presenters and social media influencers on-site to provide behind-the-scenes insights in local languages.” 

Rubin hopes that SPOTV can grow its market presence by making its content relevant to the audience.

Betting on homegrown sports content

Rubin said that they are true believers in Asian homegrown content. For instance, the Japanese Volleyball League or V.League Japan has become a property that has attracted rave reviews from SPOTV’s audience and affiliates and that they are looking to add on more such content. 

“Asian sports fans tend to overlook the fact that the best sporting action can be found in their backyard,” Rubin noted. Citing the recent Olympic results as an example, South Korea’s women’s volleyball team finished a creditable fourth place while Japan’s women’s basketball team finished with a silver medal and Japan’s men’s volleyball team were quarter-finalists. 

Rubin added, “We are more than happy to place our bets on the growth of Asian sports as a pillar of our content strategy.” 

In addition to acquiring content, Rubin said that SPOTV is looking into content production on-site events and original productions on a local level to widen its content offerings and portfolio. 

From pay-TV to digital media

Apart from SPOTV’s distribution deals with its Asian pay-TV partners, the regional sports network has also branched out to digital media with the launch of SPOTV NOW in March 2022. Currently, the mobile app is available in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines, and the OTT platform streams both live and on-demand events shown on the sports network’s pay-TV linear channels, SPOTV and SPOTV2. 

Rubin revealed that in the coming months, SPOTV is looking to add to the footprint of SPOTV NOW. He shared that the platform is an extension of its linear channels, providing MotoGP second screen options and BWF non-TV court coverage, for instance.

Rubin added that they will be looking to add more relevant features to SPOTV NOW and built it into an engaging and credible digital media platform. 

Home of robust sporting content

Aside from airing the MotoGP and BWF events, SPOTV is also home to key sporting events such as The Open and the Wimbledon Championships. Rubin noted that these two events are critical content to the SPOTV lineup. He said, “Tennis and golf speak to an audience that is willing to pay to watch premium sports properties, and thus these two world-class sporting events serve to maintain our relevance to our affiliates and subscriber base.” 

Rubin added that for Wimbledon, SPOTV will be receiving all 22 dedicated feeds, including the World Feed and the outside court coverage, from AELTC broadcast on SPOTV’s linear channels and OTT platform, which shows their commitment to showcasing the most prestigious events to SPOTV’s audience in the region.

A version of this story appears in the June-July 2022 issue of Television Asia Plus.