Viu, PCCW’s leading pan-regional OTT video streaming service, today announced key milestones for its H1 2021 performance. Its monthly active users (MAU) grew to 49.4 million as of June 2021, representing a 37% growth year-on-year, its paid subscribers grew by 62% year-on-year to over 7.0 million and revenue grew by 47% year-on-year.
While both Greater Southeast Asia and the Middle East and Africa regions consistently delivered high growth, key driver markets leading the pack have been Thailand and Indonesia, Viu’s largest and fastest growing markets. A strong proponent of the freemium model, Viu continued to see an accelerated growth in monetization. This growth is attributed to the strong network of over 80 partnerships in the digital ecosystem across the markets consisting of telcos, device manufacturers, retail and e-commerce businesses and content distribution partners. This has helped provide extensive access points and a broad base to acquire users and enhance monetization.
According to the latest Media Partners Asia (MPA)’s AMPD Research report, Viu continues to be No.1 in terms of number of MAU for the seventh consecutive quarter* in Southeast Asia. Viu also ranked second in both paid subscribers and streaming minutes amongst major video streaming platforms in Southeast Asia in H1 2021*. This further affirms Viu’s strong position amongst streaming services in Southeast Asia and popularity with online viewers.
Ms. Janice Lee, Chief Executive Officer of Viu and Managing Director of PCCW Media Group, said, “At Viu we continue with our commitment to bringing consumers the best of Asian content and video streaming experience. We saw robust growth in H1 2021, underpinned by strong content lineup and strengthened partner ecosystem. A combination of our data analytics and in-market local presence ensure we truly understand the pulse of the markets in which we operate.”
Viu has continued its expansion of Korean original series. After launching Korean Viu Original of River Where The Moon Rises and Doom At Your Service in H1 2021, Viu also announced the launch of its latest Viu Original, the most anticipated K-Drama of Now, We Are Breaking Up featuring stellar cast of Song Hye Kyo (Descendants of The Sun, The Encounter) and Jang Ki Yong (My Roommate is a Gumiho, Search: WWW). The drama is expected to be available on the platform in November. Apart from the Korean Viu Original series, Viu’s commitment to local originals continued to be strong in H1 2021 with the release of international originals including Black S2 (Malaysia), uBettina Wethu (South Africa) and the upcoming Assalamualaikum Calon Imam Series S2 (Indonesia) launching this September.
Viu continues to strengthen its Asian content portfolio to be the leader and the hub for popular premium Asian content with key content partners from mainland China and Thailand as well as expanding its Anime portfolio. Viu also expanded its flagship content creation program of Viu Pitching Forum to Malaysia and Thailand in H1 and continues to support the local creative ecosystem.
