CommunicAsia2015, VII: Getting HOOQed

Peter Bithos, CEO, HOOQ Globe Telecom (Singtel), BroadcastAsia2015 International Conference speaker, shares his perspective on the OTT video industry in Asia. Bithos studied at University of Pennsylvania - The Wharton School and has earlier worked with Virgin Mobile Australia (Singtel), Optus (SingTel), Bain & Co.

“In the world of television and video, the days of the “off” switch are largely gone. With the rise of smart device ownership, combined with improved and affordable mobile connectivity, consumers are hungrier for online videos and they are spending more time watching them. In a 2014 Nielsen online survey of global digital attitudes, over 76% polled said they enjoy the freedom of being connected anytime, anywhere. However, there is currently limited access to quality entertainment that can be streamed directly to the screen of one’s choice. It is either illegal, costly or of inferior quality.

Nevertheless, over-the-top (OTT) is shaping up to be a game changer in the TV industry, and the OTT market is now on the fast track for expansion. The global video-on-demand market will be worth US$45.3 billion by 2018. OTT service providers are starting to cash in on the brimming potential of the market through offering a wide array of video entertainment content at an affordable price to consumers.

Game-changing video-on-demand service

HOOQ is Asia’s first premium video-on-demand service. Launched earlier this year in the Philippines, it has since entered the Thailand market. A start-up joint venture between SingTel, Sony Pictures Television and Warner Bros. Entertainment, HOOQ’s service allows customers to enjoy unlimited online streaming access to over 10,000 movies and television programs, via multiple devices including PCs, smart-phones and tablets.

HOOQ’s raison d’etre is to change the way people across Asia view entertainment. We are focused on enhancing consumers’ digital lives as their partner for in-home and on-the-go entertainment.”

Bringing Endless Hours of Entertainment to Asian Consumers

The outlook might be optimistic but the journey is not easy. The rampant digital piracy in Asia, especially in developing markets, is a key challenge in the OTT set-up. Consumers would rather download and stream content for free rather than pay for video services. In addition, the myriad of local languages makes it difficult to provide content that suits everyone.

The gap in infrastructure development across markets in Asia is also an issue. In India and the Philippines, broadband speeds are currently less than half the global average and the average webpage in Thailand takes about 17.4 seconds to load, which makes seamless streaming tricky.

HOOQ is working within the limits of developing infrastructure to ensure quality content is delivered anytime, anywhere to consumers. Through offering the right combination of price point, depth and breadth of content, convenience and ease of access, HOOQ intends to convert digital pirates into paying consumers.

In places with scanty Internet coverage, an offline viewing option allows users to download videos on devices, saving them from being at the mercy of poor video buffering speeds and intermittent pauses.

Consumers are our start and end point. By placing them at the heart of everything we do, we are able to innovate around their needs, their environments and their lifestyles.

The Way Forward: An Agile Business Model

Communication operators need to recognise that it makes good business sense to embrace OTT. The number of OTT consumers from their subscriber bases is expected to surge in the next decade, and partnering with OTT services to launch third-party video apps on their platforms will drive consumer loyalty and long-term revenue.

Furthermore, operators have the expertise and know-how in billing solutions, customer support skills and access to insights on consumer behaviour, making them ideal partners for OTT service providers. HOOQ has plans in the pipeline to support a greater variety of platforms through partnerships with industry players.  

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HOOQ delivers over 10,000 Hollywood blockbusters and popular local programmes to customers anytime, anywhere by enabling them to stream and download their favourite shows on their device or platform of choice. It currently operates in the Philippines and Thailand, with a population footprint of over 160m people.