Thailand's subscription video-on-demand service appears to be reaching a tipping point, driven mainly by the proliferation of smart mobile devices and more affordable and reliable wireless broadband access, says a leading internet TV service provider.
"Internet-based subscription TV services are growing in popularity in Thailand as consumer mobility behaviour is changing," said Artima Suraphongchai, country manager of iFlix Thailand, the Malaysia-based internet TV service provider.
There are only a few million pay-video on-demand subscribers in Thailand, while the number of people streaming online video for free amounts to 20 million.
"There is still room for internet TV service providers including iFlix to grow in Thailand, as the number of players here is still small," Ms Artima said. In addition, each player has a different audience focus, making the market less competitive.
Since its inception in Thailand a year ago, she said iFlix subscribers have spent an average 115 minutes a day on its internet TV service platform, making Thailand the third-highest placed after the Philippines and Malaysia of the five countries in Asia where iFlix has a presence.
Ninety percent of iFlix's subscribers are below 40. Some 57% of subscribers enjoy iFlix on their mobile phones and the remaining 43% view on their computers, with peak watching hours from 9pm to midnight.
About 67% of iFlix's video watching runs on Android-based smartphones and 33% on Apple iOS.
"We expect to see 60% of our watching hours come from mobile devices," said Ms Artima.
iFlix has a total 5 million subscribers streaming more than 10 million minutes of content in the five countries in which it has operations.
Ms Artima said iFlix will expand to emerging markets by the end of this year, particularly in the Middle East, Latin America and North Africa.
iFlix has more than 10,000 hours of content with a vast variety of popular TV shows and movies.
In a bid to widen customer base and boost internet TV demand here, Ms Artima said iFlix Thailand is using social media to advertise its innovative marketing campaigns and promotions.
Industry experts believe the subscription-based video-on-demand market will increase tenfold to 1 billion baht this year, up from 100 million baht in 2015. This will be fuelled by a shift in demand from DVD rental and the greater availability of internet-enabled devices.