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IQiyi eyes US$1.5B in IPO; Netflix bolsters Asian content

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

* Baidu Inc.'s streaming service iQiyi on Feb. 27 filed for a U.S. IPO of up to US$1.5 billion of its class A ordinary shares. The company, which has applied to list its American depositary shares on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol IQ, has not yet specified the number of shares or price range for the IPO.

* Netflix Inc. said Feb. 23 that it will add three more Indian originals to its slate. "Leila" tells the story of a woman in search of a daughter she lost 16 years earlier, while "Ghoul" is a horror series based on Arabic folklore. Meanwhile, "Crocodile" is a young adult murder mystery thriller series set in the seaside state of Goa. The three titles will debut exclusively to Netflix members across 190 countries. Reed Hastings, Netflix CEO, president and chairman of the board, said his company sees the potential to add 100 million customers in India, according to The Economic Times.

* In other Netflix news, the streaming giant is working with South Korea's YG Entertainment Inc. on a new original series tentatively titled "YG Future Strategy Office." The show, which will feature YG artists and other Korean pop groups, will launch this year.

Content and carriage deals

* Eros Now, the over-the-top service of Eros International PLC, will release 15 original series over the next 18 months, including "Smoke," "Blue Oak Academy" and "Side Hero with Rohan Sippy," Television Post reported Feb. 22.

* Telekom Malaysia added 10 new channels from Fox Networks Group Asia to its Unifi TV service, The Star reported Feb. 21. The new channels include Fox Life, Fox, FX, Fox Movies, Fox Action Movies, Fox Family Movies, National Geographic, Nat Geo Wild, BabyTV and Sky News.

* Air Bud Entertainment said Feb. 21 that entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with iQiyi, which includes all ABE-branded content, including films co-produced with Walt Disney Co. and Netflix.

* Sony Crackle's crime drama "The Oath" is headed to the Southeast Asian streaming service HOOQ. Debuting with all 10 episodes on March 8 in the U.S., the series will be fully available on HOOQ from March 9, Rapid TV News reported Feb. 21.

* BBC Worldwide Ltd. said Feb. 20 that it signed a deal with Migu Video, China Mobile Ltd.'s video platform, which will see more than 2,200 hours of BBC content available to China Mobile subscribers.

* Amazon.com Inc.'s Prime Video will globally premiere "The Remix," its first unscripted original series from India, on March 9, Rapid TV News reported Feb. 19.

* Malaysian streaming service iflix formed a two-year distribution agreement with Lego Systems to show Lego's popular series in African and Middle Eastern markets, Business Daily Africa reported Feb. 15.

Service launches

* Myanmar-based telco Global Technology Group is launching La La Kyi, an over-the-top streaming service powered by Harmonic Inc.'s media processing Software-as-a-Service and Viaccess-Orca Ltd.'s TV-as-a-Service cloud-based TV platform, according to a Feb. 22 news release.

* Spark New Zealand Ltd said Feb. 21 it upgraded its Lightbox streaming platform and will soon launch Lightbox Movies, an on-demand pay-per-view movie service. Lightbox will also launch a tiered service for Lightbox TV, allowing customers to choose between standard and premium subscription.

Other news

* London-based streaming service Alchemiya Media launched a £1 million investment round as it seeks to expand in Asia, Advanced Television reported Feb. 23, citing Alchemiya founder and CEO Navid Akhtar. The company is reportedly in talks with one of Southeast Asia's largest telcos to bundle Alchemiya to 90 million mobile subscribers in Malaysia, Indonesia and Bangladesh.

* Econet Media Ltd.-owned pay TV operator Kwesé acquired a "significant stake" in the African business of Malaysian streaming service iflix. The transaction will allow Kwesé to include Iflix Africa in its mobile offering for customers across its footprint in sub-Saharan Africa, while also expanding the reach of iflix in the region, according to a Feb. 21 announcement.

* STAR India Pvt. Ltd.'s over the top platform Hotstar slashed the subscription price of its annual, half-yearly and quarterly plans, Times Now reported Feb. 19. The annual subscription plan has been reduced by 49% to 1,200 rupees, the six-month plan cut down 25% to 894 rupees, and the quarterly plan slashed 16% to 498 rupees.