Streaming subscription growth in the Southeast Asia region slowed dramatically in 2023, but revenue from those subscriptions grew at a robust rate, a new study has found.
The report from data analytics company AMPD, that is part of consultancy and research firm Media Partners Asia, shows that the region – that includes Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand – added only 1.3 million net new SVOD subscribers in 2023, compared with 11 million in 2022. But subscription revenues grew at 12.5% to $1.4 billion.
Netflix, Viu, Disney, WeTV, iQiyi and Prime Video had more than 75% of total premium VOD category viewership and SVOD subscriptions revenues across the region, the Southeast Asia Online Video Consumer Insights & Analytics report said. Netflix remains the leader with more than 45% viewership and subscription share in 2023.
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Among local services, Indonesia’s freemium sports and local-drama based platform Vidio ended 2023 with the highest amount of subscribers in Indonesia and 15% SVOD revenue share in the market, second only to Netflix in terms of monetization. Vidio’s paid base recovered well following a challenging first half of 2023 thanks to soccer in the second half including the Liga 1 and FIFA U17 World Cup.
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Korean dramas and variety entertainment drove 36% of premium VOD viewership and 34% of SVOD consumption in the region in 2023, contributing eight of the top 15 titles, the report said. Netflix and Viu captured over 90% of K-content demand in 2023, with hits like Netflix’s “The Glory” and “King The Land,” Season 2 of Viu’s “Taxi Driver” among the drivers. Overall, Korean, U.S. and Japanese content (anime contributing 14% of SVOD demand) captured 70% of premium VOD viewership, the report said.
U.S. content drove 21% of premium VOD viewership overall, and 30% of SVOD viewership, Netflix is the major contributor, followed by Disney+ and Prime Video, the report found. Netflix’s “One Piece” topped U.S. content demand in 2023, followed by other originals from the service including “Extraction 2,” “XO Kitty” and “Queen Charlotte.”
Southeast Asian content accounted for 12% of premium VOD viewership in 2023, with originals from Vidio, Netflix and Viu in Indonesia, Viu in Malaysia and TrueID in Thailand being the drivers. Thai content has the strongest regional impact outside of its domestic market with horror titles popular. Chinese dramas captured 10% of total consumption, driven by strong demand in Thailand.
AMPD lead analyst Dhivya T. said: “Monetization remains robust and will further improve over 2024, reflecting a marked strategic shift by key VOD platforms seeking to accelerate a path to profitability through adjustments in pricing, ARPU [average revenue per user] accretive packaging, and rationality in third party partnerships, marketing and content investment. The content pillars that drive customer acquisition, retention and engagement are now well defined with new Asian and local pillars emerging.”
