Premium VOD Sees Gains in Korea, Southeast Asia

TVING led gains in Korea’s premium VOD landscape in the first half of the year, while Korean, Chinese and Japanese content helped lift engagement in Southeast Asia, according to new studies from Media Partners Asia (MPA).

The new data taps into research collected by MPA’s ampd digital measurement platform.

In Southeast Asia, premium VOD generated 230 billion viewed minutes in the first six months of the year, a 4 percent year-on-year gain, led by the Philippines and Indonesia. Subscription and ad revenues in premium VOD rose 11 percent to $895 million, with gains recorded across Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore. Across Southeast Asia, there were about 1 million new SVOD subs in the first half to reach 48.8 million, a 5 percent increase, led by the Philippines,Thailand and Malaysia.

Netflix captured half of premium VOD viewership in the region in the first half, notably in Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore, and 40 percent of premium VOD revenues. Dominant regional player Viu had 10 percent viewership and revenue share. WeTV landed an 8 percent share of engagement across the region. Other key local players include Vidio, with a 20 percent revenue share in Indonesia and 17 percent of viewershipl and True ID in Thailand, with a 27 percent share of viewing.

“While price increases have moderated customer growth, growing penetration beyond the major urban centers in Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand remains a major opportunity as premium sports, local, Asian and U.S. content moves online,” said Vivek Couto, executive director of MPA. “Korean, U.S., Chinese and Japanese content captured 80 percent of premium VOD viewership in Southeast Asia in 1H 2024. While Korean content remains the major driver, Chinese dramas are increasing freemium viewership. U.S. content remains the leading acquisition funnel across global services. Local content maintains strong reach, with acquisition impact.”

In Korea, the SVOD base grew by 705,000 net new subs, reaching 20.8 million in the first half. Revenues (subscription and advertising) rose by 11 percent to hit $922 million. Viewership rise by 5 percent to reach 103 billion minutes.

Subscriber growth was led by dominant local player Tving, which took 34 percent of net new SVOD additions to reach 4.2 million customers and landed 30 percent of viewership and 15 percent of revenues. Netflix leads in revenues (43 percent) and viewership (37 percent). Wavve scored 18 percent of minutes watched, with Coupang Play at 9 percent and Disney+ at 5 percent.

The MPA report also highlights gains outside of premium VOD—viewership across AVOD, SVOD and live streaming platforms on mobile devices hit 534 billion minutes, a 24 percent increase, led by YouTube.

Dhivya T, lead analyst and head of insights at ampd, commented: “Local content captured 77 percent of premium VOD category engagement and 75 percent of customer acquisition in 1H 2024, with key drama and variety hits from Tving, Netflix, Coupang Play and Disney+. An abundance of local drama and variety releases across major VOD platforms drive viewership, with over 200 titles contributing to 80 percent of Korean content demand in 1H 2024.”