Viu hits 6 million active users, 50% growth in 4 months
Viu Originals provides exclusive and unique Asian premium content to viewers
PCCW (SEHK:0008) – HONG KONG, April 25, 2017 – Viu, a leading pan-regional OTT video service by PCCW Media, hit 6 million monthly active users (MAU) across its markets in March this year, representing a 50% growth from 4 million as of November 2016. Since launch in October 2015, Viu has been made available in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Oman, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Kuwait, Egypt and Bahrain.
Ms. Janice Lee, Managing Director, PCCW Media Group, said, “We are excited with the rapid expansion of Viu around the region both in terms of the number of markets we serve as well as the speed of market penetration. It is indeed very encouraging to see the high engagement with our users who spend almost 100 minutes a day viewing their favourite content on Viu. This stickiness helps propel the business of our telco partners, benefits content providers, drives subscriptions and boosts the consumption of online advertisements for advertisers who leverage Viu’s regional platform to reach the Millennials who are more receptive to digital advertisements.”
Viu operates on a dual model of an ad-supported tier and a premium subscription tier of service. Renowned industry research company, Statista, recently published a study on revenue estimates of video subscription and online video advertising which showed strong CAGR of subscription and online video advertising revenue, reaffirming the merits of Viu’s two pronged monetization strategy – see Table 1.
Table 1: Revenue estimation of video subscription and online video advertising (2015 -2020)
2015 rev 2016 rev 2017 rev 2018 rev 2019 rev 2020 rev 15-20
(USD mil) (USD mil) (USD mil) (USD mil) (USD mil) (USD mil) CAGR
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -----
Subscription (SVOD) 169 211 262 326 405 501 24.3%
(↑24.8%) (↑24.2%) (↑24.4%) (↑24.2%) (↑23.7%)
Advertising (AVOD) 433 599 818 1,118 1,537 2,089 37.1%
(↑38.3%) (↑36.6%) (↑36.7%) (↑37.5%) (↑35.9%)
* Including Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Saudi Arabia.
Source: Digital Marketing Outlook, Statista
Ms. Lee added, “Benefiting from the overall market growth of online video consumption and based on a strong product and content proposition, Viu’s subscription and advertising revenue growth has exceeded the industry’s estimate of market growth.”
Viu Originals’ first and exclusive content holds strong appeal
As part of its ongoing quest to be the preferred OTT video entertainment platform in Asia, Viu is introducing Viu Originals as a creative initiative to further enhance user engagement, adding value for both telcos and advertisers.
Riding on PCCW Media’s extensive production expertise and experience, Viu offers viewers high quality Asian content with Viu Originals comprising Korean, Chinese, Indian and Indonesian productions.
In addition to compelling Korean programs which are popular with Asian audience, Viu Originals will feature vibrant, exclusive content including among others, Chinese drama and variety shows from ViuTV, Indian content, with recent releases of thrillers, dramas and comedies produced in collaboration with renowned Indian directors and premium Southeast Asian content for markets such as Indonesia.
“This collection of exciting original content will widen Viu’s appeal to users, enhancing the loyalty of viewers to subscriptions and engaging consumers for advertisers,” Ms Lee said.
Viu has entered into an agreement with SYS Productions in relation to the parties’ collaboration in producing a program under the Viu Originals initiative entitled “Song Ji Hyo’s Beauty Views”, which is to be hosted by a celebrity from a popular Korea variety show, Running Man. The program is set to attract millions of viewers who are already big fans of Korean shows.
This show marks a rare occasion that a famous Korean celebrity with mass appeal across Asia works with a regional OTT video platform in a production to share the latest fashion and lifestyle tips in Korea. With “Hallyu” Korean wave sweeping over Asia, this Viu Originals production is primed to be a runaway success.
Song Ji Hyo’s Beauty Views will provide a refreshing approach, offering viewers an immersive experience and insights into Korean beauty and lifestyle trends. The show is expected to be popular with viewers and may feature episodes in which Song will travel overseas with Viu, interact with fans and share her experience of the products along with insightful advice on the latest fashion and style trends in Korea.
About PCCW Media
The media group of PCCW is a leading, fully integrated multimedia and entertainment group in Hong Kong.
The media group operates the leading pay-TV service in Hong Kong under the Now TV brand delivering both self-produced and licensed content to its customers using advanced IPTV technology. Now TV offers more than 190 linear channels of local, Asian and international programming. Its premium content can also be accessed on-demand and on the go via Now Player app. It is also a leading producer of Chinese language news, financial news and sports programming in addition to Asian infotainment content which complements its wide portfolio of licensed movie and international television content.
The media group is also engaged in the provision of over-the-top (OTT) video service under the Viu brand in Hong Kong and other places in the region. In addition, MOOV is a hugely popular lossless music digital streaming service in Hong Kong.
Moreover, the media group operates one of Asia’s leading directories businesses under the Yellow Pages brand.
About PCCW Limited
PCCW Limited (SEHK: 0008) is a global company headquartered in Hong Kong which holds interests in telecommunications, media, IT solutions, property development and investment, and other businesses.
The Company holds a majority interest in the HKT Trust and HKT Limited, Hong Kong’s premier telecommunications service provider and leading operator in fixed-line, broadband and mobile communication services. HKT meets the needs of the Hong Kong public and local and international businesses with a wide range of services including local telephony, local data and broadband, international telecommunications, mobile, and other telecommunications businesses such as customer premises equipment sale, outsourcing, consulting, and contact centers.
PCCW also owns a fully integrated multimedia and entertainment group in Hong Kong, PCCW Media. PCCW Media operates the largest local pay-TV operation, Now TV, and is engaged in the provision of over-the-top (OTT) video service under the Viu brand in Hong Kong and other places in the region.
Through HK Television Entertainment Company Limited, PCCW also operates a domestic free television service in Hong Kong.
Also wholly-owned by the Group, PCCW Solutions is a leading information technology outsourcing and business process outsourcing provider in Hong Kong and mainland China.
In addition, PCCW holds a majority interest in Pacific Century Premium Developments Limited, and other overseas investments. To learn more about PCCW, please visit www.pccw.com.
For further information, please contact:
Ivan Ho
PCCW
Tel: +852 2883-8747
Email: ivan.wy.ho@pccw.com
Marina Leung
Magnus Muses Limited
Tel: +852 3951 0222 / +852 9203 6203
Email: Marina.leung@magnusmuses.com
Issued by PCCW Limited.