Entrepreneur India – July 2019

56 l ENTREPRENEUR l JULY 2019

O

ver-the-top (OTT)
has become a
buzzword in the
media landscape
today. From video streaming
to video-on-demand
platforms, the segment has
grown to an industry in a
short span of time. In one of
the biggest markets, Asia, the
business of OTT picked up at
a slow pace initially with the
presence of geographically
focused players such as
Hooq, Spuul, BoxTv, etc. But
today the region is host to a
number of streaming services,
including various local players
such as Hong Kong-based Viu,
Korea-based Pooq, Beijing-
based iQiyi and Malaysia-
based iflix.
The major reasons of the
OTT business growth include
the increasing penetration
of smartphones, with digital
viewership beating the TV
viewership.
“The future of TV is
OTT,” states Ben Morrell,
General Manager - Asia,
Brightcove. In a blog post,
Morrell adds, “Fundamentally,
it will be defined by what
the viewer wants, exerting
a strong influence on how
media companies package,
deliver and monetize their
content. For consumers,
the switch between TV and

Will the traditional market reinvent itself in

order to compete with OTT?

SOUTH KOREA JAPAN INDIA

By Komal Nathani

1,053

1,945

2,589

4,409

1,501

246

mobile devices is relatively

straightforward. The

implication for service

providers is, however, much

greater.”

THE GAME CHANGER

A January study by Statistica

reveals that the percentage of

internet users who watched

online video content on

any device has increased

by double over the past one

year in Asian countries,

including South Korea (95.9

per cent), China (89.6 per

cent), India (84.1 per cent)

and Japan (73.6 per cent).

Small wonder then, online

video consumption is one of

the most popular internet

activities worldwide.

As much as the entry of

OTT platforms has disrupted

the traditional entertainment

market, the competition

within the industry has also

scaled new heights with TV

channels expanding into

OTT. Not only Asia, but

matured markets like the

US is expected to witness a

substantial change in market

after the launch of Disney’s

OTT platform Disney+, which

would compete with the likes

of Netflix and Amazon Prime.

In a game-changing move

earlier this year, HOOQ, a

highly sophisticated Netflix-

like, multi-country OTT

streaming service backed by

Sony Pictures Television,

Warner Media, and SingTel

continued its aggressive

moves in Asia by launching

50 free channels in Indonesia.

HBO GO Asia expanded

its footprint with a launch

in Indonesia, adding to its

portfolio of OTT services in

Singapore, the Philippines,

and Hong Kong.

DOUBLING GROWTH

The OTT industry is now

set for global domination,

according to an April report

by Digital TV Research.

One of the biggest growth

drivers of OTT has been

Asia’s telecom landscape.

Seeing the growing demand

in the OTT market, some of

the telcos have started OTT

service themselves. With

high adoption rates of fixed

broadband, mobile broadband

and pay-TV, the market is

growing its penetration with

as high as 80 per cent in the

Asia Pacific region.

In Asia, Netflix and iQiyi

are two promising service

providers who have been

pushing traditional pay-TV

operators out of the top five

rankings the region, says the

report.

Other than that, two

Asia-Pacific countries, Japan

and Australia, currently have

16.5 per cent and 21.7 per

The Future of

Broadcast

CHARTING THE

GROWTH OF OTT

IN ASIA PACIFIC

Beyond BordersENTERTAINMENT