HONG KONG – Viu, a leading pan-regional OTT video service by PCCW Media Group, is set on a course to actively develop its Viu Original initiative this year which will see 70 titles and over 900 episodes of locally produced content by the end of 2018. Produced in Indian, Chinese, Indonesian and Arabic languages, Viu Original spans the full spectrum of TV content genres and has extended its production scope to movies.
Viu Original enjoys great popularity and support among viewers who embrace Viu’s freemium model, which provides free access (ad-support) content for all viewers while offering enhanced features to premium subscribers. Viu now boasts over 16 million monthly active users across Asia.
Besides working with top award-winning directors and production talent in the markets, Viu employs a highly innovative way to come up with new ideas for Viu Original. For example, in Indonesia, Viu “crowd sources” Viu Original ideas in an event called Viu Pitching Forum, where young filmmakers are encouraged to pitch their ideas before a team of renowned experts, including award-winning producers, directors and scriptwriters. Viu will fund shortlisted ideas and collaborate with professional filmmakers to produce them for airing.
Back to its home base in Hong Kong, Viu enlists local YouTubers and KOLs to join the production team. Such an initiative maximizes engagement with the local creative community to create content relevant and engaging to the Millennials.
Viu Original has recently launched an array of full feature movies. High Jack, which is co-produced with award-winning Phantom Films in India, is scheduled to be screened in 450 Indian theatres followed by viewing on the Viu platform. Kenapa Harus Bule?, a Viu Original satirical comedy movie with a deep message of valuing inner beauty and pride of being Indonesian, was screened in Indonesia recently.
Working along its broadcast partners, Viu aims to bring Viu Original to free-to-air and pay-TV audience around the world. Viu has collaborated with Zoom TV, a pay-TV channel owned by Sun Network, and Gemini TV, a Bollywood pay-TV channel, to deliver its original content to free TV and pay-TV audience in India.
Viu can also connect and engage with Millennials and thereby increases its appeal to advertisers targeting them through Viu Original’s engaging content. Drama series and variety shows co-produced with advertisers have been gaining traction with these audiences and advertisers’ response to Viu Original is stellar with Viu adding an enviable list of advertisers to its roster.
