Heaptalk, Jakarta — Viu, PCCW’s leading pan-regional OTT video streaming service, announced today a key performance milestone for H1 2021. According to the AMPD Media Partner Asia (MPA) SEA quarterly report, the platform has had the highest number of monthly active users in Southeast Asia for the past seven quarters. Monthly active users (MAU) increased by 37% year over year to 49.4 million in June 2021. Paid subscribers increased by 62 percent year on year to over 7 million, while revenue increased by 47 percent.
For the eighth straight quarter, Viu maintains its lead in Southeast Asia in terms of monthly active users. Viu was also placed second in Southeast Asia’s top video streaming services in terms of paid subscribers and streaming minutes in H1 2021. This result reaffirms Viu’s strong position among Southeast Asian streaming services as well as its popularity among online viewers.
This significant growth is driven in part by a robust content lineup and a strengthened partner environment. One of the main clues was the announcement of the highly anticipated Viu Original Korea, We Are Breaking Up, starring well-known actresses Song Hye Kyo and Jang Ki Yong.
With the Southeast Asia, Middle East, and Africa area continually generating high growth, Thailand and Indonesia, Viu’s largest and fastest expanding markets, are the major driving markets for this growth. With this proponent of the freemium approach, the company continues to see fast increased in monetization. This expansion is supported by a robust network of more than 80 digital ecosystem partners from various industries, including telecommunications companies, device manufacturers, retail and e-commerce enterprises, and content distribution partners. This method assists Viu in acquiring a large user base and increasing monetization.
“At Viu, we continue to be devoted to offering consumers the greatest Asian content and video streaming experience,” stated Janice Lee, Chief Executive Officer of Viu and Managing Director of PCCW Media Group.
“We anticipate robust growth in the first half of 2021, supported by a solid content portfolio and a strengthened partner ecosystem. The combination of our data analytics and local market presence means that we genuinely understand the pulse of the customers with whom we work.” Janice Lee continued.
Viu continues to expand its Korean Original content. Following the release of the Viu Original Korea River Where The Moon Rises and Doom At Your Service in the first half of 2021, Viu has also announced the release of its newest Viu Original, the highly anticipated K-Drama Now, We Are Breaking Up, starring star actors Song Hye Kyo (Descendants of the Sun, The Encounter) and Jang Ki Yong (My Roommate is a Gumiho, Search: WWW). The drama is set to debut on the Viu platform in November. In addition to Viu Original Korea, they are committed to local original production will be strengthened in the first semester of 2021 by the release of international original productions such as Black S2 (Malaysia), uBettina Wethu (South Africa), and Assalamualaikum Calon Imam Series S2 (Indonesia) this year.
Viu is also increasing its Anime portfolio while strengthening its Asian content portfolio to become a popular premium Asian content leader and hub with important content partners from mainland China and Thailand. In semester one, Viu also expanded its flagship content creation program, the Viu Pitching Forum, to Malaysia and Thailand, and it continues to promote local creative ecosystems.
