Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/CALIFORNIA: International streaming services netflix and others saw a huge increase in subscribers as a result of the outbreak, but as nations began to reopen, US powerhouses have moved their attention elsewhere with Thailand squarely in their sights.
The kingdom offers a tremendous chance because of its high internet penetration, storied film industry, and six million or more active consumers of streaming platforms, per statistics from 2021. As new sign-ups have levelled down in more established regions like North America and Europe, major companies like Netflix and Amazon Prime, which each claim 200 million and 220 million members globally, have taken notice.
Almost simultaneously with Netflix announcing six locally produced movies and television shows for the upcoming months, Prime Video’s Thai version of the service launched in October. Malobika Banerji, Netflix’s director of content for Southeast Asia, who oversees a region centered in Singapore, declared that “competition is everywhere.”
Nowhere is that clearer than in the Thai capital, where the mega-production “Rings of Power,” a “Lord of the Rings” spinoff from Prime, competes for attention on billboards with the newest South Korean series from Netflix.
According to Josh McIvor, director of global development at Prime Video, “We do believe that Thailand will be a big part of our subscriber growth in the years to come.” Regarding their earlier entry into Japan, where they outperform Netflix, he said, “Our goal is really to try to be the most local of the global streaming services.” Netflix saw a 20% increase in Asia-Pacific subscribers last year, according to the company’s most recent quarterly report, but their rival’s longer-term investment is clear.
Trying to find the next “Squid Game”
While expensive international series like “Rings of Power” receives most of the attention, streamers view locally produced content as the long-term backbone of their selection. One such example is Prime’s hugely popular Indian crime thriller “Mirzapur.”
Local originals — “across scripted, unscripted, and film” — and licensed locally produced series are the two key “pillars” to success, according to Erika North, director of local content at Amazon Studios.
Netflix placing significant bets on local content
The second is what drew Prime to Thailand, according to her: they want to build on a long tradition of Thai cinema that has higher production values than other countries in the region. Similar to this, Netflix is placing significant bets on local content going global in hopes of finding the next “Squid Game,” a critically acclaimed and financially successful South Korean film. In reference to the Thai mystery-thriller series “Girl from Nowhere,” Netflix’s Banerji claimed that there were “more and more” instances of this.
Analysts of streaming services have been keeping an eye on US companies, such as Disney+, to see if they can compete with regional rivals. In the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia, streaming has surpassed traditional viewing, according to a report from the consulting firm Kantar this year.
However, Thailand has a unique allure, according to Vivek Couto, executive director and co-founder of Media Partners Asia (MPA), a company that keeps an eye on streaming services.
The expected revenue from streaming in Thailand in 2022, according to an analysis from MPA this year, is expected to be around $809 million. In addition to having a more developed broadband infrastructure than other Southeast Asian nations, the kingdom, according to Couto, also has the population with the “highest propensity to pay for online video content.”
Creative control
According to their data, almost a third of Thai households already have an on-demand streaming service subscription, far more than Indonesia (12%) or Vietnam combined (four percent).
According to Couto, if the content is truly effective locally and is sustainable, it will spread everywhere.
“I believe this is the reason why Netflix and Amazon are interested in Thai producers and shows.”
Even though director Apichatpong Weerasethakul has won numerous awards at the Cannes Film Festival, including the top prize in 2010, Thai cinema has not yet established itself as a major force on the world stage.
Local producers and directors are cautiously optimistic that the new interest from wealthy streaming behemoths will help the local industry. The director and producer of the upcoming Netflix crime drama “The Murderer,” Wisit Sasanatieng, said that while some content is impossible to produce through a studio, it is possible through streaming.
The change was welcomed by Thai producer Cattleya Paosrijaroen, co-founder of the independent studio 185 Films. She suggested that international companies could introduce higher standards, providing better working conditions for crews currently expected to work 16-hour shifts.
She did, however, sound a warning. “If Netflix is producing your movie, they can decide what’s in it,” Cattleya said.
