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Viu enters Indonesia with freemium model

Descendants of the Sun on Viu

Descendants of the Sun: Viu is betting big on Korean content

Viu, the internet television service from PCCW Media’s video-on-demand company Vuclip, has entered Indonesia with its “best of Asian content” proposition.

The provider, which launched in Hong Kong late last year, and in Singapore, India and Malaysia early this year to take on OTT rivals Netflix, HOOQ and Iflix, enters Southeast Asia’s most populous country with a freemium model, with a premium ad-free service available.

As with the other markets in which Viu has launched, Korean content leads the line-up with shows including smash-hit series Descendants of the Sun. Taiwanese content, Indonesian sinetrons and Hong Kong and Bollywood films are also in the mix.

Korean content will be available in English within eight hours of debuting in Korea, and in Bahasa Indonesia within 24 hours of airing in its home market.

The brand has entered the market in partnership with Telkom Indonesia’s IndiHome Fiber, Telkomsel and Samsung.

Viu comes up against Singtel’s HOOQ, which entered Indonesia in April, and Netflix, which endured a bumpy ride on entry and was initially blocked. Iflix has also said it will enter Indonesia through a deal with local TV giant Emtek.

The boss of Vuclip, Nickhil Jakatdar, said in a statement that entering Indonesia was “just the start” and the company was looking forward to “entertaining millions of Indonesians through our fresh and exciting best of Asian content and high quality service.”

“We are confident that the audience here will welcome Viu just as those in Malaysia, Singapore and other markets have,” he said.

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