GMM 25 deal to add to content on Viu video service
THE COMPANY behind video service provider Viu has joined with GMM Grammy to provide digital content from its GMM 25 operation to improve the service offerings to Viu customers.
Thawatvongse Silamanonda, country manager of PCCW OTT (Thailand), which operates the over-the-top (OTT) video service, said that under the collaboration with GMM Grammy, the firm will select premium content from GMM 25 of as much as 200 hours for users who access its digital content via the Viu application.
“I think that the collaboration will help us to expand our customers base and target segment. The service will utilise new technology to bring out the expanded content offerings,” Thawatvongse said.
He said that the firm now provides up to 10,000 hours of Korean dramas via Viu's OTT video services. It also provides Japanese and Hong Kong content to support the needs of its viewers. GMM Grammy is its first partner in the country.
“Thailand is an important market for us and we have a spent a long time to prepare a social media platform to support Thailand, where people love content and entertainment,” said Helen Sou, senior vice president of digital media at PCCW Media Group. “Thailand is also a fast-growing market. The firm targets to get break even with this service in the next few years.”
The company has achieved around 2.3 million downloads, with 70 per cent of them done by women.
It also has around a million active viewers in Thailand. Viewers spend around 1.2 hours to 1.8 hours a day looking at content via the Viu application. The collaboration will drive its business growth in the country and create opportunities to provide more variety in digital content to its customers, Sou said. The firm had more than 16 million active users in the region by the end of 2017.
Boosaba Dao-Rueng, group executive officer of GMM Grammy, said that the collaboration will help the company to achieve its business goals. All Viu users in Thailand can enjoy premium digital content from GMM 25, Boosaba said.
“Meanwhile, premium users can enjoy enhanced features including ad-free content, availability in full HD 1080p video quality and the option to download to view later,” Boosaba said.
“The firm expects that it will capture the rising demand from OTT users both with its GMM 25 digital TV channel and through the Viu platform.”
