STREAMING services such as Netflix, Youtube, and Disney+ Hotstar have become increasingly popular in the past couple of years, and for good reason, too. These streaming platforms gained prominence, particularly during the pandemic when everyone was stuck at home and hungry for content.
During that time, iQIYI Malaysia country manager Dinesh Ratnam started seeing the rise of Asian content in Malaysia, which has now overtaken the demand for Western content.
This gives iQIYI, a Chinese online video platform, the upper hand, despite being newly established.
STREAMING TREND
Ratnam said there are three trends that drive the streaming market in Malaysia: Growing Internet presence, mobile phone penetration, and the rise in applications used.
Previously, people went to physical stores to shop, and content was mostly consumed from television, but with the online shifts and the rise of said trends, consumers are also expecting to shop and consume premium content on-demand (via apps).
"Covid-19 has accelerated the streaming landscape due to everyone being at home and craving content.
"Those who've never used streaming services started to opt for them during the pandemic and once they got accustomed to consuming content in that form, the habit continued post-pandemic," Ratnam said.
Although streaming consumption decelerated post-Covid, it has normalised again, and now, streaming services are picking up from where they left off.
RISE OF ASIAN CONTENT
According to an annual 'Year and Search' Google report, the top 10 most searched keywords are Asian titles for the TV series category.
This proves that Asian content has taken up most of the search interest in the country.
"Within the iQIYI app, we're seeing 15 times the user growth driven by Asian content since our establishment in Malaysia in 2020.
"Apart from Korean content, Chinese content has dominated the search bar, as we saw a doubling of Malay subtitles being used in Chinese content last year.
"This means that we are getting a larger Malay audience," Ratnam said.
LANGUAGE AND BRIDGING CULTURES
Based on a survey by iQIYI at the end of last year, 67 per cent of users believed language variety bears the most importance on a streaming service.
This plays to iQIYI's strengths, as it produces content in languages ranging from Mandarin to Bahasa Melayu.
Apart from producing 200 Chinese titles over the next couple of years, iQIYI is also planning to expand its cross-collaboration angle to promote both Chinese and local content.
It also plans to coax audiences to watch its content by adding high-quality subtitles for its top shows and using dubbing in certain markets, such as Thailand.
"We're also facilitating cross-collaboration in our production, such as having a Thai and Taiwanese actor in the same show to appeal to more global audiences, and we're planning to do the same in Malaysia.
"Furthermore, we're cross-promoting our C-content to audiences by recommending C-content based on the kind of shows or genre they opted for," said Ratnam.
CROSS-COUNTRY COLLABORATION
Previously, iQIYI has brought a Thai artiste from a Korean company, Lisa from Blackpink, into a Chinese show called
Youth With You,
and also have more cross-country-collaborative works in the making.
One of them is a Taiwanese fantasy comedy-drama called
Oh No! Here Comes Trouble
where a Thai actor, Nonkul, is part of the cast.
"We're working closely with our Mainland China team to ensure that what they are producing makes sense to our local market in Malaysia. And to complement the high demand for local content, we have started producing more local Malay dramas and are planning to release three original dramas this year," said Ratnam.
In driving more engagement with their users, iQIYI is releasing more product features such as a Rewards Programme for users to get points by checking in daily, watching specific dramas, watching for 30, 60, or 90 minutes, subscribing to annual VIP passes, and more. The points can be used to redeem gifts.
