In this biweekly Asia video spotlight feature, S&P Global Market Intelligence provides a roundup of news related to over-the-top, video-on-demand and other online video initiatives in different Asian markets.
Top news
* Hong Kong's PCCW Media Ltd. introduced over-the-top platform Now E, offering premium content including Hollywood and Asian movies, shows, concerts and sporting events. Subscribers can register up to five devices.
* Baidu Inc.'s streaming service iQiyi Inc. opened its first on-demand movie theater, Yuke, in China. It combines the ability to choose content and viewing time with the audiovisual environment of traditional theaters. The company plans to open more Yuke movie theaters in first- and second-tier cities "to increase the strength and overall scale of China's film industry," Senior Vice President Yang Xianghua said.
Content and carriage deals
* Balaji Telefilms Ltd.'s over-the-top platform ALTBalaji will offer more than 100 hours of original content in 2018 and is working on 50 more concepts for new shows, Television Post reports.
* Rakuten Inc.'s Rakuten TV acquired TalkTalk TV's off-net transactional base comprising customers that are not subscribed to TalkTalk Telecom Group PLC's TV and broadband packages. The deal will allow Rakuten TV to reach more than 3 million users in the U.K. as part of its expansion plans.
* Viu, a video-streaming subsidiary of PCCW Media, will deliver Asian content, including South Korean dramas, to Thai audiences through a content deal with GMM Grammy PCL, Manager reports.
* Spark New Zealand Ltd. upgraded its Lightbox TV platform with new features including a premium TV plan that allows temporary downloads of the entire Lightbox TV catalog, a movie rental service and a PIN-protected kid's corner with more children-focused content.
* Netflix Inc. struck partnerships with Indonesian telcos XL Axiata, PT Hutchison 3 Indonesia and Lippo Group-owned Bolt to offer unlimited or designated amounts of content from Netflix and other participating over-the-top video providers to subscribers without additional tariffs.
* Amazon.com Inc. Prime Video India secured exclusive digital rights to the Telugu film "Rangasthalam," which premiered on the streaming platform shortly after its May 14 theatrical release, Rapid TV News reports. Amazon also unveiled its first original web series in India's regional space, a Telugu drama called "GangStars," according to Television Post.
Service launches
* Singapore-based mobile internet company BIGO Technology Pte. Ltd. launched Cube TV, an application for mobile gaming live streaming, e-sports and online game shopping mall in Indonesia.
* Home Box Office Inc. partnered with Jakarta-based PT First Media Television to launch its HBO GO streaming service in Indonesia, Indotelko reports. HBO GO is only available now to First Media customers who subscribe to the HBO channel.
Other news
* Xunlei Ltd. signed a partnership with iQiyi under which the streaming platform will receive Xunlei's internet-as-a-service, which includes edge and function computing and shared content delivery network solutions.
* Chinese short video streaming app Douyin sued Tencent Holdings Ltd. for spreading video clips that accused Douyin of encouraging harmful behavior in children. The Toutiao subsidiary is seeking 1 million yuan in compensation and an apology from Tencent.
* Simei Media Co. Ltd. partnered with Zhejiang Radio and Television Group's internet arm to invest 50 million yuan in a short video business joint venture. The JV will leverage Simei's content creation capability and Zhejiang Radio and Television's distribution channels.
* YouTube LLC was the most-used app in South Korea in April, with users across age groups spending 25.8 billion minutes on the Google Inc.-owned video-streaming platform. This is a 226.6% jump from March 2016, when users spent 7.9 billion minutes on the app, The Korea Herald reports.
* Epic Television Networks Pvt. Ltd. plans to grow its subscription video-on-demand service Epic On by striking distribution deals with telcos, equipment manufacturers and other connected platforms, according to Television Post. The broadcaster is also working on creating original content for its streaming platform.
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