Mubi Streaming Service Launches in Southeast Asia1 min read
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Film specialist streaming platform Mubi is to launch in Southeast Asia. The service kicks off with operation in Malaysia, and has plans to quickly launch in another half-dozen territories in the fast-developing region.
Mubi will retain its highly curated approach of offering one new film title per day and retaining each for just 30 days. But to cope with the social, ethnic and cultural diversity in the region, the Southeast Asia launch requires a significant modification of the business model.
“In Southeast Asia you cannot scale up a business that focuses on the Coen Brothers and the like,” Mubi founder Efe Cakarel told Variety. “It is a market that engages with local content and cinema from the region. One-size-fits-all does not work in Southeast Asia.”
In the near future, Mubi plans to add at least two further channels in Malaysia, one concentrating on Chinese-language and Korean films, and another with a tight focus on South Indian films in the Tamil and Telugu languages.
“The Southeast Asia market is very fragmented with a lot of noise from a lot of players, but almost everyone is trying to do the same thing,” Cakarel said. “They are skewing heavily towards TV series, trying to find blockbuster content, and trying to reach as many households as possible in one go. The problem is that none have enough capital to amass enough content to provide a compelling offering. Netflix and Amazon are offering content that is focused on the Western market. In the mind of the consumer there is no clear winner.”
Photo credit: Variety
