Local OTT looks to win on home turf 

VieON has launched with a full-scale technology upgrade to provide viewers with local content in world-class quality

The Vietnamese over-the-top (OTT) market is brimming with potential for both local and foreign players. Driven by factors such as smartphone and internet adoption and based on both paid and ad-supported models, Vietnam’s OTT market revenue is projected to reach approximately $105 million in 2020 and rise at a compound annual growth rate of 9.4 per cent between now and 2024, according to German research firm Statista.

Since the outbreak of coronavirus, the OTT market has gained a spotlight it has never had before. Social distancing measures including the shutdown of cinemas have pushed people towards OTT platforms for entertainment, leading to a surge in online video consumption.

Netflix, Inc., an American media-services provider and production company, has been the biggest beneficiary with a boom in the streaming world over recent years as well as during the coronavirus crisis. The firm also remains the only foreign player among the top video streaming services in Vietnam. To take advantage of the rising demand, Netflix has beefed up advertising in Vietnam via social networks such as Facebook and YouTube.

Vietnam’s FPT Play also recorded great growth in recent months since the pandemic outbreak hit. A representative of the application said that its user numbers have risen by 30 per cent since early January. Moreover, paid subscribers in March also grew by 29 per cent on-year and 23 per cent on-month.

With online streaming services increasingly in high demand, OTT platforms have been buzzing with activity to bring more choices to customers and satisfy the evolving demand. While the international players like Netflix seem to attract users with exclusive content and user-friendly interface, local providers like FPT Play, VTV Go, Galaxy Play, and VieOn are capitalising on Vietnamese content served for local users.

In addition, OTT platforms are making efforts to experiment with new formats and technology to offer content that is innovative and engaging. However, the lack of legal framework as well as the current censorship process has created significant challenges for related businesses in Vietnam.

VieON comes with a set of highly personalised and cutting-edge features

Meanwhile, according to insiders, there are many loopholes regarding copyrights, which makes the market hard to control in the long run. Domestic OTT platforms have, therefore, not met the needs of local users, while the content of foreign platforms does not always match the taste and culture of the Vietnamese.

In light of this, VieON has launched its latest version with a total upgrade of technology to provide a personalised experience and to become the first Vietnamese provider that offers 100-per-cent copyrighted content. It has an ambition to become a world-class player serving the Vietnamese, aiming to win the battle right on its home turf.

After four years of research and development, the brand new version of VieON was launched in Vietnam last week. Collaboratively developed by Dat Viet VAC – the leading entertainment and communications technology group in Vietnam – and global consulting company BCG Digital Ventures, the new version of VieON is expected to be an outstanding OTT application that provides the most creative content and the most complete live-broadcasted content library in Vietnam.

With 100 channels and over 100,000 hours of fully-copyrighted blockbuster content, combined with other excellent features such as personalised content and live streaming, VieON is about to bring many fresh and continuously-updated entertainment content on an innovative technology platform.

VieOn is expected to fulfill the market gap by investing in local programmes with high value and the most diverse content. Following its promise to understand the insight of Vietnamese audiences, VieON is focusing on creativity, leading the trend and creating unique values based on international quality.

The ambition of VieON is not only limited to the local market but also expanded to global playgrounds such as Southeast Asia, the US, Australia, South Korea, and Taiwan in 2021. With a 4K library of trending, diverse, and popular content, this is the first time users in Vietnam can watch local and global content on one single platform, with a huge copyrighted selection.

In addition to 100,000 hours of top dramas and TV shows, VieOn also has a library of thousands of Vietnamese, American, South Korean, and Chinese movies as well as hundreds of domestic and international television channels.

The entertainment app also presents a series of exclusive content including the four-decade-long drama series Gao Nep Gao Te 2; the cinematic-quality web drama Hai Duong Trong Gio; original mini drama Khong The Roi Mat with the debut of popular V-pop figure Jack; and a number of series such as Cay Tao No Hoa; Em Uoc Minh Cung Bay directed by Phan Dang Di; and Ca Doi Lam Me directed by Nguyen Quang Dung, among others.

Moreover, VieOn optimises convenience in the user experience and invests in technology infrastructure to keep up with their appetites. That includes co-operation with Netflix partner Akamai to provide solutions that enable content transfer to millions of users at the same time.

The new version of VieON with a premium interface will elevate the users’ experience to a new level with outstanding features including a sharp high-quality 4K content library; super smooth non-interrupted high speed; super smart understanding and content recommendation; as well as super convenient and easy-to-use interface.

With all of these advantages, VieON is expected to quickly grasp a bigger slice of the emerging Vietnamese OTT market in the coming time.