Tencent has revealed plans to grow its WeTV video streaming platform beyond Mainland China for the first time, announcing a growing library of international, local and original content for viewers in Thailand. Officially launching in Bangkok today, WeTV has been previewing for Thai consumers since November 2018. The service adds video to Tencent’s growing selection of entertainment platforms tailored for audiences outside China, which currently includes regional music streaming service JOOX, and the PUBG MOBILE games franchise.
Tencent Video is one of the leading video streaming services in China, boasting over 89 million subscribers (as of Q1 2019), and more than 200 million daily active users (DAU). Its success is based on original content and production, along with broad availability across all devices including mobile phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, and smart TVs. As part of Tencent’s broader ecosystem, the service is integrated with other Tencent platforms, offering partners and content producers highly effective platforms to engage their audiences.
“Thailand has a well-established online and entertainment infrastructure, as well as significant consumer buying power, which makes it a great choice as the first country to expand WeTV beyond China”, said Jeff Han, Senior Vice President of Tencent Penguin Pictures. “The readiness of the market in terms of demand for quality content and online consumer base is a key factor. Internet users in Thailand spend an average of 3 hours 44 minutes on video streaming each day, and already spend more than 80 minutes per day on WeTV, which gives us an excellent base on which to build.”
One of Tencent Video’s strengths lies in its ability to produce high quality original content in a wide range of genres including drama, variety shows, animations etc. WeTV will curate content that is relevant to the Thai audience. It will not only localize Chinese content with Thai dubbing, it will also introduce Korean content which is widely popular in Thailand, and work closely with local partners to develop original Thai content. Tencent has already licensed original programming overseas, including the critically acclaimed Flavorful Origins series which premiered on Netflix worldwide earlier this year.
“When operating overseas, working closely with local partners is our key strategy. In Thailand, we are working hand-in-hand with both content partners such as One 31, GDH and Insight Entertainment to offer premium, fully localized entertainment options for Thai audiences,” added Jeff Han.
