Southeast Asia (SEA) added 2.8 million net new SVOD subscriptions in the first quarter of 2022 to reach an aggregate customer base of 39.5 million total subs, according to new analysis published by Media Partners Asia (MPA). The quarterly MPA report, titled “Southeast Asia Online Video Consumer Insights & Analytics,” leverages MPA’s AMPD Research Platform to measure online video in five SEA markets.
According to MPA’s analysis, Disney+ Hotstar captured 22% of new subs in the first quarter of the year, with notable growth in Indonesia, where it exceeded 5.0 million subscribers, a historic first for any SVOD platform in the SEA region. “Indonesia continues to be an arena for competition and scale for streamers with growing pressure on incumbents to stand out in brand, content, marketing and bundling in order to impact time and wallet share,” commented Dhivya T, Analyst at Media Partners Asia.
“Vidio and Disney+ Hotstar were stand-outs in Q1, growing their share of premium video consumption to 28% and 15%, respectively, up from 19% and 10% in Q4 2021, to occupy the top two spots, ahead of WeTV, Netflix and Viu. Both platforms have benefited from new local original series and marketing, while Disney’s K-dramas and Vidio’s sports offering also had significant impact during the quarter. We expect premium video competition to intensify further later this year as entrants like Prime Video land and incumbents continue to invest in local content, partnerships, marketing and branding to win customers,” Dhivya added.
The report also highlights that while Netflix, Viu and WeTV’s consumption in Indonesia contracted in the first quarter, they are expected to recover share in Q2 following Netflix’s integration with Telkomsel and IndiHome, the return of Viu’s K-dramas and local originals slate and WeTV’s renewed local content pipeline. The market closed the first quarter with a total 17.4 million SVOD subscriptions.
Netflix leads premium video consumption share in the rest of SEA, with content breadth across premium US series and movies, Korean dramas, Japanese anime and international originals serving SEA audiences. Along with WeTV and Vidio’s Indonesian originals, Viu had notable local content success in Q1, led by acquired (GMM 25) Thai remake of the “Boys Over Flowers” franchise. F4 Thailand was among Viu’s top streamed titles in Q1 with significant travelability outside of Thailand. Viu’s original Thai thriller “Remember 15” also performed well, while ABS-CBN’s “Broken Marriage Vow” was a hit in the Philippines.
“Subscriber growth is likely to moderate as sluggish macroeconomic conditions set in across SEA. Inflationary pressures could impact consumer wallets with affordability, new content cadence and hits, and ease of access though telco and direct retail bundles likely to be the key to driving customer acquisition and limiting churn. Local series, particularly in Indonesia and Thailand, have proven use-cases in customer acquisition and retention. Along with local, US and Korean content and live sports are expected to continue to drive premium customer demand. The expansion of Prime Video in the second half of 2022 is also set to intensify competition, along with Disney+ Hotstar’s launch in the Philippines,” commented MPA Executive Director, Vivek Couto.
In terms of content, Korean dramas and US content remained critical, driving over 50% of AMPD measured consumption in SEA, led by Netflix’s robust Q1 K-drama slate, with Viu and Disney+ Hotstar also contributing. US content was the largest category in English-speaking markets Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore, driving up to 33-44% of measured consumption. Notably, Indonesia, Thai and Filipino content demand is on the rise, championed by local originals and acquisitions on Vidio, Disney+ Hotstar, WeTV and Viu. Chinese dramas captured 14% of aggregate demand, driven by growing demand in Thailand.
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