Competition Intensifies in Southeast Asian Streaming

Premium video usage and subscriber takeup rebounded across Southeast Asia in the third quarter, per new Media Partners Asia (MPA) research, driven by intensifying competition among global, regional and local players.

In the quarter, premium online video viewership rose 6 percent in Southeast Asia, led by Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar and Viu, notably in Indonesia and the Philippines. Netflix had a whopping 42 percent share of premium video viewership, followed by regional heavyweight Viu at 13 percent, WeTV at 10 percent, Disney+ Hotstar at 9 percent and Vidio at 9 percent.

In terms of subs, the region added 2.5 million in Q3 to reach 43.5 million, with Vidio leading growth thanks to its sports slate, which includes Liga 1 and the Premier League. The local platform ended Q3 with 4 million subs. Pushing its Southeast Asian localization efforts, notably in Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand, Prime Video logged about 400,000 new additions. Across the five markets in the region, Disney, Netflix and Viu remain the top three platforms in terms of paying customers with a combined 52 percent market share.

In terms of content categories resonating in the region, Korean programming scored a 38 percent share of premium video viewership, followed by American shows at 22 percent and China at 13 percent. Southeast Asian content pulled a 12 percent share, with Japan at 8 percent.

“The growth of Vidio and Prime Video have thus far expanded the SEA streaming universe,” said MPA analyst Dhivya T. “Breakout Korean hits such as Extraordinary Attorney Woo helped boost Netflix’s consumption leadership in SEA while Disney’s Big Mouth and Amazon’s Love In Contract also generated strong buzz. In Indonesia and Thailand, high quality local content remains critical. Originals such as Love Mechanics (WeTV), School Tales The Series (Netflix) and The Sexy Doctor is Mine (Vidio) were highlights in Q3. Disney+’s Philippines launch, Vidio’s momentum and strong local slates from Netflix and Amazon are expected to drive SVOD growth in Q4, though consumer sentiment has weakened in Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand. Together with competitive intensity and a new focus on improved monetization, this could lead to new dynamics and trends playing out in Q4 and over 2023.”