HOOQ Lines Up Original Production, “Sachet” Pricing

BALI: Asian OTT service HOOQ has added a new bite-­size weekly “sachet” tier to its pricing structure, and has announced plans for its first original series, in the Philippines.

For $1.40, customers will have seven-day access to a catalogue of Hollywood and local titles. The tier is now available in Indonesia and will roll out to HOOQ’s footprint of the Philippines, Thailand and India.

“From our beginning, we have been committed to tailor our service to the emerging markets,” said Peter Bithos, CEO of HOOQ, a joint-venture of Singtel, Sony Pictures Television and Warner Bros. “We understand the challenges of the emerging markets unlike any other and our goal is to ensure that everyone across Asia can access entertainment at an affordable price. All across emerging markets, goods and services are offered in ‘bite-size sachets’ and we believe entertainment should be no different. Our new weekly pricing was designed solely for the emerging market customer. Now more people can be entertained at a cash outlay that works for them.”

In the Philippines, HOOQ is teaming with Globe Telecom and Reality Entertainment for its first local original, On the Job. The miniseries is based on the hit Filipino movie of the same name.

Krishnan Rajagopalan, chief content and distribution officer at HOOQ, noted, “Original content has always been in our plans. The past year has been focused on bringing the best of what’s available in the market to satisfy and surprise our customers. Today, we are proud to announce that original content will be part of our extensive catalogue and fans of OTJ can expect the pilot on HOOQ this August.”