Reach 100 Thousand Subscribers, Iflix Video on Demand Service Enters Indonesia End of the Year

Streaming service video on demand (VOD) iflix announced the milestone of 100 subscribers within six weeks of its availability in Malaysia and the Philippines. They will enter the Thai market in the near future and promise a presence in Indonesia before the end of the year. In the next five years, Iflix targets to have more than 20 million subscribers.

The service, which essentially imitates Netflix's business model, was founded by Malaysia-based Catcha Group. In Indonesia, this business group has several marketplace, such as rumah123, mobil123, and RumahdanProperti.com. Currently Iflix is ​​available in Malaysia and the Philippines in collaboration with local mobile operators.

Given the absence of Netflix in the region and the high demand for Internet-based VOD services, Iflix will compete with HOOQ to attract more Southeast Asian subscribers. HOOQ was initiated by SingTel Group.

Iflix is ​​currently accessible via desktop and mobile and tablet applications. They also recently delivered packages bundle Chromecast for easy viewing on a television screen. It costs less than $3 (less than IDR 36 thousand) per month, both in Malaysia and the Philippines to watch unlimited movies and television series every month.

Iflix itself will be available in Thailand in the near future and Iflix Malaysia CEO Azran Osman-Rani told DigitalNewsAsia promised Iflix presence in Indonesia before the end of the year. Looking at the existing pattern, it is very likely that Iflix will cooperate with XL Axiata as a partner, especially since Osman-Rani himself was once a Commissioner of XL. HOOQ itself will almost certainly enter Indonesia together Telkomsel which is part of the SingTel Group.

Iflix Group CEO Mark Britt on Iflix's growth mention, "The digital world has a bigger role in today's society and consumption patterns have changed. Instead of just relying on the television at home for news, information and entertainment content, they are now turning to their smart devices for whatever content they want at any time."

"We expect the number of smartphone users in ASEAN countries to reach 240 million in 2018, with 14-38% regularly using their cellphones to watch long videos," he said.