The Edge How Disney + Hotstar's Entry Changes Astro's Value
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The Edge Section: News Ad Value: RM 17,366 10-May-2021 Size : 936cm2 PR Value: RM 52,098 How Disney + Hotstar's entry changes Astro's value proposition How Disney+ Hotstar's entry changes Astro's value proposition BY CINDY YEAP ,,I feel a disturbance in the force” — the opening line by Malaysian actor Nazruditi Rahman,as emcee ofT he Walt Disney Company,s online media day for Malaysia on May 4, may have been his way of celebrating Star Wars Day, com memorating George Lucas' Star Wars fran- chisei which Disney bought in 2012. hotstar Yet, those words could prove prescient in The Home efGiabaland Malaysian Hlu the coining months for the Malaysian me Start Streaming 1 June dia scene,with Disney+ Hotstar streaming locally from June 1, if the services' perfor mance in just five months in Indonesia is any indication, astro Disney's announcement for Malaysia last week came a week after it announced the de cision to stop 18 of 22 Disney-owned linear or conventional TV channels from Oct 1 in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong to signal the weight it is putting on its direct-to -customer streaming services. Only National Geographic, Nat Geo Wild,Star Chinese Channel and Star Ahmad Izham (at the launch of Disney+ Hotstar): We look forward to continuing our deep-rooted support of Malaysian-made content and shining a well-deserved Chinese Movies remain for now, while those spotlight on inspiring Malaysian stories, filmmakers and talent culled include FX,Fox Sports,Star Sports,Nat Ge。People and SCM Legend. distancing rules to battle the Covid-19 TV-watching habits of a number of Astro mated to be on the premium paid platform Disney+ Hotstar, which entered Indone pandemic forced cinemas to shutter or subscribers, Tan acknowledged that there and the rest on the free NJOI platform. Astro sia last September; is leading the pack with operate at a fraction of their capacity most was also a growing demand for streaming does not provide a breakdown. 2% million subscribers, or 35.7% of the sev of last year.At the time,Astro group CEO services that the group wanted to cater to Astro is already a partner for wamerMe- en million subscription video-on-demand Henry Tan told The Edge that the Astro (see "Giving traditional TV audience the dia's HBO Go and iQIYI, which debuted its (SVOD),on the archipelago, according to data First platform provided an alternative next-generation streaming experience" in first linearTVchannel on Astro (Channel 300). from Media Partners Asia inJanuary.This is monetisation avenue for local filmmakers The Edge, Issue 1343, Nov 2,2020). Astro is looking to add five or six SVOD part followed by PCCW's Viu (1.5 miHion), Indo (see ^tro offers local filmmakers alter He also told The Edge last year that part nerships this year and more nextyearto bring nesia-based Vidio (1.1 million) and Netflix native monetisation platform" in The Edge, nerships with OTT platforms, which offers the number of partnerships to as many as 15 (850,OOOXBetween September 2020 and Jan Issue 1343, Nov 2,2020). them access to Astro's reach of 75% of Ma by early 2023,Tan was quoted by ContentAsia uary this year, the net number of SVOD users No叫 at least three Malaysian films will laysian households, is a "win-win" propo on April 21,citing what he said at the recent rose by 3.6 million, a good sign for all players. bypass theatrical releases and premier di sition that reduces their marketing costs APOS 2021 conference. It is understood that In Indonesia, where SVOD growth was rectly on Disney* Hotstar: J2: J Retribusi, while reducing content cost for Astro. He "Sooka^which will reportedly target younger driven by availability of cheaper mobile-only Zombitopia and Ma Hantu; while Ejen Ali: The said these savings could be reinvested into audiences with a focus on local content and packages, Disney chose to partner TeUcom- Movie 2 will stream exclusively on Disney+ producing more original content. sports, is just the tentative name for Astro's sel, the leading mobile operator controlled Hotstar, following a theatrical debut. “We are delighted to aggregate the best of OTT platform that it is mulling. by state-owned incumbent Telkom and Sin Top-rated local primetime drama series the best to be the undisputed entertainment The additional revenue from additional gapore Telecommunications Ltd. Free-to-air such as TV3's Single Terlalu Lama and Kekasih destination for Malaysians. Our customers de packages, such as RM5 a month for Disney+ players in Indonesia also enjoy a very dif Hati Mr Bodyguard will also premier first at serve great entertainment, and the addition of Hotstar, should be a boost to Astro's revenue ferent value proposition with advertisers, 7am on the same day as the linear telecast, Disney+ Hotstar to our much-loved hits,local if it can keep existing subscribers happy by owing to the large population, where pay or 15 hours earlier, on Disney+ Hotstar,That signatures and unparalleled sports would de charging the same price as its own stable of TV penetration is not as high as Malaysia. has been made possible by "a series of mul light them,“ Tan said in the same statement, content. Astro has not said whether it will For Malaysia, Disney+ Hotstar chose As ti-year agreements with leading Malaysian adding that Astro was “working towards mak be adjusting the prices of its packages when tro Malaysia Bhd, which has 75% household studios such as Skop Productions, Revolu ing Disney+ Hotstar available to our Ultra and Disney's Hnear channels are taken off air in penetration for pay-TV as “an official distrib- tion Media Films, Primeworks Studios,WAU Ulti connected boxes later this year”. October.It may well choose to add other con utor".There was no mention of exclusivity, Animation,Act 2 Mctures^Les' Copaque Pro Now that a partnership with Disney+ tent to make up.Itisnot immediately known, although Astro has said its Movie Pack sub duction (and) Red Films" Disney+ Hotstar Hotstar has been announced, attention is on however, how much the potential top-line scribers need to pay only an additional RM5 said in a statement dated May 4. whether Astro will also announce a deal with gains would translate into better earnings. a month to get Disney+ Hotstar, compared Ahmad Izham Omar, executive director Netflix soon. It would be even more interest As more and more content owners Launch with an average of RM18.30 (RM54.90 for of content and creative of Disney+ Hotstar ing if Netflix has a linear channel with Astro, their streaming service in the region, ana three months) for those subscribing direct Southeast Asia, says: "In addition to being something that Netflix is reportedly experi lysts and investors will be looking out for ly to access more than 800 films and 18,000 able to bring amazing content from Disney's menting in France to cater for a segment of how well Astro is able to keep its paying episodes on Disney+ Hotstar. incredible brands from all around the world, it customers who may want to watch only what customers happy even as it takes on more Like the prominence given to Indonesian has been such a privilege to collaborate with is on the TV screen rather than choose for partnerships with content owners such as content when it was launched last Sept 2, homegrown studios and creators to bring themselves on a streaming platform. Disney that will favour their own streaming local Malaysian content was highlightedj Malaysian stories to Disney+ Hotstar and In Singapore,pay-TV and mobile service service over their partnerships with pay-TV alongside Disney's iconic and envied library drive the growth of our creative community. provider StarHub Ltd introduced a broadband rivals such as Astro, despite long-lasting of brands, including Disney, Pixar, Marvel, "Through Disney+ Hotstar, we look for and pay-TV bundle that allows customers business-to-business content partnerships. Star Wars and National Geographic. ward to continuing our deep-rooted sup to add a Netflix subscription. Netflix also They will also look at whether Astro's cost It is not just streaming wars that are port of Malaysian-made content and shin has a dedicated channel (Channel 525) on structure will indeed change into one that about to hot up in Malaysia, where global ing a well-deserved spotlight on inspiring the StarHub box. It is not immediately cer can result in better profits and,in turn, divi video streaming leader Netflix is already Malaysian stories, filmmakers and talent.” tain whether this is the same as the linear dend payments for shareholders. present, alongside Asian over-the-top (OTT) Before his appointment on Nov 17 last year, channel that Netflix was reportedly testing For now, analysts are overwhelmingly players such as PCC W Ltd's Viu, Baidu Inc's Ahmad Izham was CEO of Malaysian pro in France late last year. positive on Astro,owing to their expectation iQlYI and Tencent Holdings Ltd's WeTV, duction company Primeworks Studio, which Netflix does notprovide abreakdcwnofhcw of its dividend -paying capability According which bought iHix. is owned by Media Prima Bhd,w hose stable manys treaming subscribers it has in Malaysia, to Bloomberg data, a poll of 13 analysts has of free-to-air channels includesTV3 and 8TV. but Statists estimates that there were 336,100 consensus dividend per share (DPS) of 7.5 Boost for Malaysian content active Netflix subscribers in Malaysia in2020. sen for the current financial year ending Competition for quality local content Netflix parbiership after Disney? That works out to about 1.25% of its 26.85 mil Jan 31,2022, which implies a 7% yield at its is already visible even before Disney+ Astro, which is mulling the introduction of lion customers in Asia-Pacific and 0.16% of RM1.05 close last Thursday (May 6).