Aug. 28, 2023

Viu: Rising Star in the Asian OTT Universe

Video streaming giants like Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video often loom over smaller platforms, thinning the oxygen in the media ecosystem. Yet, attempts by these over-the-top (OTT) content veterans in entering the Asian market has been lacklustre, in comparison with the growing success of Hong-Kong based streaming platform Viu. How did Viu become one of the biggest streaming platforms in Asia? By: Theng Min Yee

With the realm of media and entertainment being pervaded by over-the-top (OTT) streaming services, companies often face immense competition and pressure in their race to the top of the food chain. Within such a cutthroat climate, Hong Kong-based OTT video streaming provider Viu has been gaining ground, even taking over some of the largest streaming companies when it comes to the region of Asia. According to Media Partners Asia (MPA), the platform is currently the second-largest streaming service by paid subscribers in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong. In an interview earlier this year, Viu CEO Janice Lee revealed to Variety that the platform had 66.4 million monthly active users in 2022, with an increase of 13% year-on-year. Within just seven years of its launch, the streaming provider has rose to become a prominent name in the industry. What contributes to their meteoric rise in the streaming world?

Tapping into Asia

Created as a subsidiary under Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li’s Pacific Century Cyberworks (PCCW) Limited, Viu has been thriving with its growing number of Southeast Asian subscribers, which have already topped those of US streaming giant rival Netflix.

In an interview with Nikkei Asia, CEO Lee spoke about her company’s expansion plans in Asia, demonstrating her awareness of the Asian population and market. “The markets that we operate in, whether it's Thailand, Indonesia or the Philippines, anywhere from 50% to 80% of the population actually live in non-metro cities,” Lee said. “The mobile data adoption rate is growing very fast across these nations. We have to get these users,” she added. Lee’s understanding of her platform’s audience led to Viu’s adoption of a mobile-first approach, which countered low broadband household penetration rates in most markets, whilst global competitions were seen focusing on connected TV devices.

The offering of free streaming with advertisements or ad-free paid subscriptions also embraced the needs of non-urbanite Asian users. In an interview, Lee commented, “To suit the non-metro areas, this dual-revenue works because in the more rural areas the affordability may be different.”

A personalised viewing experience for Asian audience is also achieved with Viu offering a myriad of programming dubbed into local languages, including Bisaya in the Philippines and Yaya, a northern Thai dialect. This catering to the language preferences of Asian viewers has reaped its rewards, with Viu experiencing a surge in viewership after releasing their dubbed content.

Content Localisation

“People [in Asia] need to consume content every day, and apart from the big blockbusters [which are made in the U.S.], they also want to see familiar faces and stories that resonate, things in their own language, and that has been our focus,” Lee said in a 2021 interview.

This commitment towards localising their content saw Viu launch their flagship brand “Viu Original”, which remakes international dramas in a localised fashion. Most of Viu’s originals based in Southeast Asia received recognition, bagging several wins at the Asian Academy Creative Awards and the Asian Television Awards. This initiative saw the producing of Korean dramas like 18 Again, which was adapted from the Hollywood movie 17 Again (2009). Starring actor Lee Do Hyun’s heartfelt performance in the series won him Best New Actor at the Baeksang Arts Awards.  Viu’s compelling Asian adaptation of the iconic Warner Bros series Pretty Little Liars also performed well on charts, achieving a ranking of the second most-watched show in Indonesia on Viu, becoming the platform’s most popular original program till date.

Recent titles on the platform, like Thai drama series Get Rich, Korean drama series My Lovely Liar, and Indonesian drama series A Beautiful Angel, also showcase the wide range of programmes catered towards a diversity of viewers in Asia.

Though the realm of OTT video streaming remains a tricky terrain to navigate, with platforms in ever-pursuit of creating the best viewing experience and content for its audience, Viu’s strong footing in the Asian market makes it a force to be reckoned with. Their grasp of the Asian market is foreseen to only get stronger, with Canal+’s US$300 million investment in Viu, which occurred in June this year.

“No one has a crystal ball to know that you are going to be a success in any market,” said CEO Lee, in an interview with Forbes. “If you fail, fail fast, move on, course correct.”

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