MNC Vision Provides Funding of 570 Billion Rupiah to Migo, Schedules Several Collaborations

MNC Vision Networks (IDX: IPTV), a subsidiary of MNC Group which oversees several OTT business units, announced its investment in Migo Indonesia worth $40 million or equivalent to 570 billion Rupiah. The funds will be used to increase service coverage with a target of 100 million users by 2022.

This funding continues Migo's acquisition in 2020 in a series B round. The amount is not stated, a number of venture capitalists and angel investors involved, including Temasek, Provident Capital, Ray Zage (Commissioner Gojek and Lippo Karawaci), Steve Chen (Co-founder & ex-CTO of Youtube), and Pandu Sjahrir.

Compared service video streaming On the other hand, Migo's technology is quite unique in the form of online to offline (O2O) videos-to-go which allows users to watch movies online offline without buffering. Content distribution is done through Wargo (Warung Migo) or Migo Download Stations (MDS). Users only need to go to the partner grocery shop location to download the content and then enjoy it online offline in the application.

In particular, Migo's target market is the mass market segment that has issues with data and does not have adequate connectivity at home. Migo started traveling in Indonesia since March 2020, before then fully launching in the global market in June 2020 with a paid model. Currently, the scope of services (the presence of partners) is only around Jakarta and Bekasi.

Furthermore, with the funds obtained, Migo also has a target to add MDS points in 10 thousand new locations in Java.

"Migo uniquely and exclusively innovates for 3 billion consumers in emerging markets. As the largest country in Southeast Asia, Indonesia is home to more than 200 million people who under-innovated. These individuals and families by nature want to fully participate in our digital age, and Migo can make that happen," said Migo Founder & CEO Barrett Comiskey.

Partnership with MNC

The IPTV corporate action will be continued with a number of strategic partnerships, continuing the integration of Vision+ in the Migo application that has been carried out since June 2021. The goal is to bring the OTT Vision+ viewing experience to customers offline. With the additional capital provided, Migo is quite optimistic about setting a target of 20 million monthly paid subscribers for the Vision+ service on Migo by 2025. Migo's subscription fee itself is in the range of Rp. 15 thousand per month.

"Working with MNC Group, which provides enormous domestic resources and experience, to accelerate Migo's scale and increase the impact of Migo on society. MNC Vision Networks is an excellent partner while simultaneously expanding our network nationally in order to realize our mission We aim to change the digital life of Indonesians every day," added Barrett.

In addition, the agreement also includes the appointment of the President Director of MNC Vision Networks Ade Tjendra and the Marketing Head of the President Director of MNC Vision Networks Clarissa Tanoesoedibjo as the Board of Commissioners of Migo Indonesia.

" Supported by MVN's superior content and Migo's rapidly growing reach, we hope to reach tens of millions of people who do not have access to OTT services, or are limited by continuous data quota loads. In addition, we believe that with this service will change people's lives because they will have better access to entertainment and educational content," said MNC Vision Networks President Director Ade Tjendra.

MNC Group OTT Business

This year, MNC Vision Networks has announced a number of important plans. One quite significant plan go public on the US stock exchange for its subsidiary Asia Vision Networks (AVN) or known for its application product Vision+. The corporate action began with the signing of a merger agreement with Malacca Straits Acquisition Company (NASDAQ: MLAC), a SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company).

Apart from operating OTT (over the top) via app streaming video, AVN also oversees MNC Play as a pay-TV operator and services broadband.

The strength of the MNC is evident in the diversification of the content provided. Moreover, they have television broadcast assets that dominate rating national. The VOD application presented also bridges access to these shows, while providing post-show replay options. The presence of Migo is certainly a good bridge to reach new people – especially to convert television viewers to VOD.

According to data presented in the disclosure, until the beginning of this year Vision+ currently has 5,6 million subscribers, and 1,6 million of them are paid subscribers. Meanwhile, its competitors, according to Media Partners Asia data, until early this year Disney+ Hotstar already had 2,5 million paid subscribers in Indonesia, Viu had 1,5 million subscribers, and Vidio had 1,1 million subscribers. While Netflix has 800 thousand.

Meanwhile, according to their popularity (accessed today [14/9] via the analytics service AppBrain), the following is a list of the most popular VOD applications on the Android platform: