Korean, U.S. Content Drive Southeast Asian Streaming Gains

Korean content accounted for 34 percent of all online video streaming minutes in Southeast Asia in 2020, with U.S. content close behind at 30 percent, according to data from Media Partners Asia (MPA).

The MPA report, Southeast Asia Online Video Consumer Insights & Analytics: A Definitive Study, analyzes streaming trends in Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, leveraging the group’s own AMPD Research insights platform.

Beyond Korean and North American content, Southeast Asian streaming consumers also accessed local content (13 percent), programming from Japan (9 percent), Europe and the U.K. (7 percent) and China (5 percent).

“A steady stream of original and acquired Korean dramas from Netflix and Viu in 2020 has significantly boosted Korean content consumption in Southeast Asia, pushing K-dramas further into the mainstream of online entertainment,” said Dhivya T, MPA analyst. “U.S. content maintains strength, largely driven by Netflix, while Disney+ Hotstar’s growing scale in Indonesia has boosted U.S. content consumption and we expect its successful launch in Singapore to drive similar results in Q1 2021. We are also seeing strong demand for local content in Indonesia and Thailand addressed by Vidio and Line TV respectively. Both platforms leverage FTA dramas and some originals. We expect to see more platforms drive local content investment in 2021 and beyond while the battleground for Korean content will remain costly. Netflix and Viu have appeared to be able to monetize Korean content investments better than most because of multi-market scale, with Netflix, in particular, benefiting from global SVOD leadership.”

Korean content is especially strong in Singapore and Indonesia, where it accounted for 38 percent of streaming time last year. Netflix and Viu are the key players for Korean series, with WeTV and iQIYI also faring well with library content on their free tiers.

Netflix drove streaming of U.S. movies and series, which are especially popular in the Philippines, accounting for 38 percent of streamed minutes last year. In Indonesia, meanwhile, Disney+ Hotstar is boosting U.S. content.

Local content is doing well in Indonesia (18 percent of streamed minutes), driven by Vidio, and Thailand (38 percent), with Line TV’s romantic dramas and originals proving popular. Viu is also doing well with locally acquired dramas in Thailand. WeTV is making originals in Indonesia and Thailand, and Disney+ Hotstar acquired a raft of local films for its Indonesian launch.

Anime accounted for about 9 percent of streamed minutes in Southeast Asia last year, mostly driven by Netflix.

The expansion of WeTV and iQIYI is helping to popularize Chinese content in the region, most notably in Thailand (10 percent) and Singapore (8 percent).