Thailand: Viu, GMM content deal
April 20, 2018
Viu, a pan-regional OTT video service by PCCW Media Group, has made inroads in bringing local content to the online video audience in Thailand with a content deal with GMM Channel, one of the largest entertainment companies in Thailand. The deal also signifies Viu’s continual expansion of localised content to suit the viewers in different markets.
This deal adds up to 200 hours of selected premium content from GMM25 under GMM Channel for Viu audience in Thailand, expanding upon its already large catalogue of Asian premium content available on the platform. It also bears testament to the success of freemium OTT video model spearheaded by Viu, which offers all viewers free access to its content with ad-support, while premium subscribers can enjoy a wealth of features on the OTT platform.
Janice Lee, Managing Director, PCCW Media Group, said, “We can expect substantial synergy in this collaboration that will benefit us both. Since Viu coined the pioneering free and premium tiers of services tailored for different viewing habits of Asian netizens, the number of monthly active users has grown to over 16 million by the end of 2017. Our extensive audience base can ensure local broadcasters like GMM Channel may further expand their reach, whereas the premium program lineup from GMM25 will enable us to offer more relevant, highly localized content to attract more viewers. We look forward to working closer with more content providers like GMM Channel to deliver more engaging local content to our users.”
Boosaba DaoRueng, Group Chief Executive Officer of GMM Grammy Public Company Limited, added, “GMM25 offers a variety of content such as huge hit based-on-true stories drama and unique variety shows which speaks well to audiences of the new generation. The ever so growing millennial audiences make our collaboration with Viu an essential move. We aim to cross function our existing audiences and capitalize on these millions of active users. To capture the increasing number of OTT users, both GMM25 and Viu are focused on constantly pioneering and innovating both the content and the platform. With these major factors, we are confident the collaboration will see both of our business goals meet.”