Visinema Strengthens Management to Optimize Its Business Lines

Visinema announced the appointment of former Walt Disney Indonesia Country Manager Herry Salim as Group President and CEO of Visinema Studios. Simultaneously they also announced the appointment of Aldi Haryopratomo as commissioner. This strengthening of the management ranks is carried out to expand the company's business.

Founded in 2008, Visinema currently manages number of production units which consists of Visinema Pictures, Visinema Content, and Visinema Studios; then digital distribution services via Online Cinema; as well as development of Intellectual Property (IP).

Previously, through Visinema Studios, they released a number of local IPs, including the animated series Nussa, the Filosofi Kopi series, the film Keluarga Cemara, to the children's film series Domikado and Jumbo. Herry will be largely tasked with developing the next IP, while exploring the potential of the creative industry in Indonesia.

"I believe the potential of Indonesia's creative industry can be as big as Korea or Hollywood. However, to realize the industry's potential, it cannot only rely on quality creations, but must be equipped with strong management and expansion of business lines into the IP realm," said Visinema Founder & CEO Angga Dwimas Sasongko .

He continued, "Therefore, Visinema is proud to embrace leaders with experience in the entertainment industry and IP development, namely Herry Salim, and also Aldi Haryopratomo which has been proven to be able to build the foundation for companies to grow rapidly, as is the case in the technology sector."

The potential for video and film content continues to increase

According to Media Partners Asia data, investment in Indonesian video and film content will increase 13% in 2022 to $979 million, the largest in Southeast Asia. In the midst of this growth, in the last year Visinema has achieved various achievements.

In terms of film production, Visinema Pictures has produced hits such as "Stealing Raden Saleh" which has been watched by more than 2,3 million moviegoers and also "Today we will tell later" one of top-10 Netflix. In the distribution realm, Online Cinema has been accessed by more than 11 million viewers with more than 200 local content from 100+ filmmakers in 15+ provinces of Indonesia.

"Based on my experience in the global entertainment industry, I believe Visinema has the potential to be a catalyst for the development of the entertainment industry in Indonesia. Angga and the Visinema team have mastered how to storytelling which touches the heart watching Indonesia. Now is the time for Visinema to move up a class not only from a creative perspective but also from a distribution and commercial perspective. "This expansion will also maximize the potential of Indonesia's creative industry so that it can become increasingly global," said Herry

Aldi added, "Creative industries, including film, have a direct impact on other sectors. Due to the success of K-Drama, Korean products from food, cosmetics, fashion to tourism are popular with people all over the world. Apart from that, IP produced by film can spread widely without "physical distribution, as well as technology. I am sure Visinema will continue to bring Indonesian stories, culture and products to the world."

In the content production line, opportunities are very wide in the Indonesian market to produce various local series and films. Meanwhile, for distribution platforms, it seems that Visinema has to work extra hard to win in the OTT market which is still very dynamic and full of competition.

The latest MPA report states, in H1 2023 Netflix, Prime Video, Viu, iflix, HBO Go, and Vidio become services streaming which is currently widely used by Indonesian people.

Apart from vertical competition, this industry is actually also facing a shift in the way people consume content. Still from the same report, the TikTok phenomenon has caused the growth of new SVOD subscribers to decline yoy. Only around 7 thousand new customers were recorded in the first half of this year, down compared to the same period in the previous year of 3,7 million customers.

To maximize its business, Visinema is supported by a number of venture capitalists. At the beginning of 2020, they announced $3,25 million series A funding. This round was led by Intudo Ventures, supported by previous investors namely GDP Venture and Ancora Capital. In the initial stage, the company has received investment from GDP worth US$ 2 million.