KUALA LUMPUR: The entertainment scene is taking an initiative to adapt to digitalisation with the rise in digital consumers as the masses are shifting towards more on-demand offerings from the traditional means of media consumption.
Hence, online streaming platform WeTV Malaysia foresees the growth of mobile content viewership to further increase in three years’ time, while there may be an increase in TV cable cutting as consumers are introduced to more options in the market.
Country manager Heng Aik Kuang said Malaysia has one of the highest smartphone ownership penetration rates in the region and as a result, WeTV is definitely seeing a huge shift towards mobile viewership with a high affinity for on-demand viewing as well.
“The majority of Malaysians’ first interaction with video content tends to be through smart devices as opposed to televisions and computers or laptops.
“Local content will also see a spike as the quality of the local entertainment industry improves from year to year,” he told Bernama.
Background
Launched in 2018, WeTV has quickly risen to be Malaysia’s leading over-the-top (OTT) platform, featuring high-quality local, international and Asian content for fans across the region to enjoy.
Since January 2020, the platform has seen a viewership growth of more than 10-fold, and digital streaming sites enjoys over 10 million downloads on both the Google Play Store and Apple App store.
The aim is to elevate the Malaysian film scene to the next level, Heng said, adding that he believes WeTV Originals will be able to achieve that gradually, via collaborations with Malaysian industry players.
“Last year, we saw a further increase in the number of people embracing streaming services, as a form of entertainment, which skyrocketed because of the movement restriction laws imposed by the government due to the Covid-19 threat.
“While we see a significant impact to the entire industry, including theatres, the entertainment industry will remain resilient as it offers an important outlet for audiences,” he added.
He said for OTT, consumers continue to see great value in the convenience to binge content anywhere and at any time.
“With this accelerated adoption and even more first-run content made available online, this trend will continue to improve this year.
“As for what drives subscriptions, we continue to learn from our users’ preferences and viewing habits and incorporate these learnings to our originally-produced local content,” he said.
Expounding on the differences between WeTV and other streaming platforms such as Netflix and Viu, Heng said WeTV is very local-centric and free for anyone to use.
“We also place a lot of our focus on nurturing local talents to ensure that Malaysia can showcase its own set of world-class talents.
“If you browse through WeTV, you will find a plethora of content directed and produced by Malaysian directors, starring amazing actors and actresses… The Malaysian content streaming market is a highly competitive and vibrant one.
“In fact, Malaysian users are among the most engaged users in the region, and constantly demanding more content,” he said.
Partnership and Prospects
In November last year, WeTV inked a partnership with Media Prima Bhd which entailed a licensing deal that enabled the platform’s (WeTV) acquisition of both exclusive and library titles from Media Prima.
“As of now, we have three recently completed series available for audiences following the partnership with Media Prima, namely, ‘Sang Pewaris’, ‘Bidadari Salju’ and ‘Takdir Yang Tertulis’, which were aired on Nov 26, 2020, Dec 15, 2020, and Jan 21, 2021, respectively.
“The partnership with Media Prima is a strategic and long-term one, which also includes future opportunities in production collaboration… We believe that this collaboration provides significant opportunities for us to continue to serve the needs of the local audience,” he said.
Going forward, Heng hopes the local content industry will overcome the challenges posed by Covid-19, as it has impacted the livelihoods of everyone connected to the industry, whether he/she is a director, an actor/actress, or a support crew.
“Over the longer term, I believe there is immense potential in our local content industry. We hope both government authorities and Malaysians alike continue to support the local content industry in an effort to elevate it to the international standards,” he said. — Bernama
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