SingTel-initiated Hooq video streaming server is reportedly going to start introducing itself in Indonesia this March. As The Register had it, Hooq will be available in Indonesia, India, and Thailand as of this month after getting inaugurated in the Philippines last month. Hooq attempt to reach out to markets that stay untouched by Netflix.
When being launched in the Philippines, Hooq signed a deal of partnership with Globe Telecom. Globe is one company which part of its shares owned by SingTel, thus we expect that Telkomsel will be Hooq’s partner while it gets launched in Indonesia.
Hooq, which was established in collaboration with Sony and Warner Bros, has prepared 10 thousand content, including films and famous TV serials, as well as content in Bahasa, Tagalog, Indian, and Chinese. In the Philippines, Hooq collaborates with two local TV stations. This might give us a taste of how it will be run in Indonesia.
Streaming services, like Netflix, are actually popualr among middle class in big cities, due to their less expensive access to tons of TV serials and favorite films that users can have in a single click through their desktop and mobile devices. Unfortunately, Netflix isn’t legally available in Indonesia. Yet.
According to a data by The Register, Netflix’s international revenue in the last quarter of 2014 went up 76% to $388 million. In total, 30% of the income came from international customers.
Hooq is accessible through desktop, tablet, and mobile apps which run on iOS and Android. In Indonesia, Hooq will get a direct competition from Telkom’s UseeTV. The winner of this competition is the one who understands the need and local viewers’ interests, based on the combination of local and international content.
