In Asia, Amazon and Netflix vie with home-grown video streaming platforms for customers – and it’s viewers who are the winners

Tencent Video, Baidu’s iQiyi, HOOQ and Hotstar offer competition for Western streaming platforms looking to break into Asia

The intense competition between the streaming services is benefiting customers, who enjoy free streaming and locally made original content

Reading Time:3 minutes

Western streaming platforms looking at Asia face stiff competition from local companies. Netflix released its first Indian drama series Sacred Games in 2018. Photo: courtesy of Netflix

Published: 8:00pm, 4 Nov 2019Updated: 8:03pm, 4 Nov 2019

From Chinese behemoths backed by the likes of Baidu, to Southeast Asian upstarts offering free content, Asian video streaming services are challenging Western giants seeking to expand in the region.

As more consumers in Asia get reliable internet access on smartphones and tablets, multiple platforms – including United States-based outfits such as Netflix and Amazon – are vying to sign them up. To appeal to audiences across the vast and diverse continent, services are racing to buy local content and produce their own offerings, and are taking new approaches such as free-to-view services with ads.

“The whole landscape is changing,” says James Bridges, chief executive and co-founder of documentary streaming service iwonder, which operates in Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia. Not only does the content range widely, but also the business models – from ad-supported to subscription. The variety means there is a lot of room for people to try different things.”

Audiences benefit from the intense competition, with a flood of original content being made to cater to local markets.

These include Netflix’s critically acclaimed Indian-made thriller series Sacred Games and KL Gangster: Underworld, a collaboration between Malaysia’s iflix and Skop Productions. Some services such as iflix and Hong Kong-based Viu are giving away content for free and making money from ads, while also offering a subscription premium service.