The arrival of US-based video streaming company Netflix in Thailand is going to ruffle up the slow-growing internet television market here.
It ends years of speculation about the subscription-based film and TV programme service provider's foray into Thailand.
"The availability of the much-awaited fourth-generation (4G) wireless broadband service and the lifestyle of Thai consumers who are spending more time on their smartphones than with TV sets are the crucial factors that attracted the global player to the local video-streaming space," said Kasidit Kolasastraseni, chief executive of PrimeTime Entertainment, a Bangkok-based video-on-demand service provider and a major player in Thailand.
"Netflix's entry is also expected to spur competition in the Thai market," he said.
Customers need a minimum 3 Mbps connection to stream content in standard (SD) version and 5 Mbps in high-definition (HD).
Netflix has not added any new Thai-language content beyond the small selection of films it already has. And while the company on Thursday added support for three new languages, Thai was not among them. Neither the website, app or subtitles are available in Thai yet. It also provides a limited selection of film offerings here due to multi-territorial usage of copyright content.
The company is currently offering a free, no-obligation trial for a month in Thailand. After that, subscribers can opt for and switch between any of three payment plans.
Options start with a standard-definition programming package that can be viewed on only one device at a time for 280 baht a month.
The standard package, at 350 baht a month, offers HD content and simultaneous viewing on two screens.
The 420-baht-per-month plan offers four screens and ultra-HD content, which requires a television or computer monitor with a resolution of 4,000 pixels to enjoy.
Mr Kasidit said Netflix's entry could accelerate awareness and adoption of subscription-based on-demand video-streaming services in Thailand.
However, he said Netflix would create no significant momentum or cause momentum changes, unlike the imminent commercial launch of 4G service nationwide.
The number of subscribers who pay for video-on-demand in Thailand will be at 2-3 million, out of 7 million people streaming video-on-demand for free.
"The subscription-based video-on-demand market is expected to increase 10-fold to 1 billion baht this year, up from 100 million baht in 2015," said Mr Kasidit. This will be fuelled by a shift in demand from DVD rental and the greater availability of internet-enabled devices.
"We believe the number of video-streaming operators will fall to two or three players over the next two years, down from the current five, including Netflix," he said.
Mr Kasidit said PrimeTime Entertainment is in talks with a private equity firm over a possible partnership in a drive to expand to Asean markets.
PrimeTime has over 1 million users as of December last year, expected to increase to 7 million this year.
Artima Suraphongchai, country manager of iFlix Thailand, the local operating unit of the Malaysia-based internet TV service provider, said Netflix's announcement is a sign that Thailand's digital entertainment service could become a global phenomenon.
iFlix charges customers a flat rate of 100 baht per month for unlimited downloads of content, including local and English-language programmes. It is the only service provider that allows users to download content and watch a downloaded video offline when there's no internet connection, which can save mobile data charges.
Since its inception in Thailand three months ago, iFlix now has several hundred thousand customers.