Southeast Asia solely added 7,000 internet new SVOD subscriptions within the first half of 2023, an enormous slowdown from 7 million new subscribers within the second half of final 12 months, in keeping with a report from Media Partners Asia (MPA).
The flat figures are additionally down on the primary half of 2022 when the area added 3.7 million internet subscribers. Offsetting the decline from contracting platforms, Netflix, Prime Video and Viu added an combination 1.2 million prospects throughout the interval, accounting for 63% of recent subscriptions amongst rising platforms.
At the identical time, TikTok was “increasingly a major driver of viewership growth on mobile and web platforms, responsible for over 70% of growth in streaming minutes over the past two years”, the report acknowledged.
TikTok captured 42% of video streaming minutes within the first half of 2023, an enormous 20 proportion level improve in comparison with the primary half of 2021, and seven proportion level improve over the primary half of 2022. The brief video app’s rise diminished share for each YouTube, which was down 4% year-on-year, and premium VOD, down 2% year-on-year.
In whole, Southeast Asia had 47.6 million SVOD subscriptions on the finish of the primary half of 2023. Subscriber progress in Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines was offset by contraction in Indonesia, the place whole subscriptions fell by 1.2 million.
MPA attributed the slowdown throughout the area to a few elements, together with:
- Subscriber churn in Indonesia following the top of the FIFA World Cup soccer event in December 2022 and the top of the 2022-23 Premier League season in May 2023;
- The affect of considerably diminished native advertising and content material funding exterior of Netflix, Prime Video and Viu, who all contributed to regional progress in 2023 first half;
- and the results of worth will increase carried out by key platforms.
The three rising platforms – Netflix, Prime Video and Viu – all faucet into the recognition of Korean dramas, the one largest content material class in Southeast Asia premium VOD, capturing 40% of premium VOD viewership throughout the area within the first half of the 12 months. Top exhibits throughout the interval included Netflix’s The Glory and Viu’s Taxi Driver Season 2.
However, all main streaming providers are additionally investing in Southeast Asian content material, which captured 13% of premium VOD viewership, whereas US content material accounted for 21%, Japanese anime 10% and Chinese content material 9%.
Thai content material had the strongest regional affect, with Netflix’s thriller film Hunger changing into essentially the most broadly travelled present.
“The region’s leading premium VOD platforms are in the midst of a shift towards quality customer growth, retention, and monetization,” stated MPA govt director Vivek Couto. “Netflix has diminished costs and launched member sharing measures whereas Disney has raised costs in Indonesia and Thailand in an effort to construct low-churn, excessive ARPU buyer bases.
“We expect Vidio in Indonesia to pick up subscribers with the return of Liga 1 and the Premier League in 2H, along with impactful local slates from Netflix and Amazon, particularly in Thailand and Indonesia, attracting new subscribers, while Viu will continue to benefit from its Korean output.”
Premium VOD excludes figures for YouTube, TikTok and gaming streaming. MPA’s ‘Southeast Asia Online Video Consumer Insights & Analytics’ report tracked key metrics throughout the net video class with passive and institution panels in 5 SEA markets: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.