New Channel Partner — iflix: Into Asian and Middle Eastern Markets

Asia-based iflix signed up as part of Filmhub’s growing channel network. With 6.5 million subscribers, iflix is a foreign-funded streaming service operating mainly in Asian and Middle Eastern emerging markets.

A Streaming Service Focused on Emerging Markets

iflix is available as a subscription-based service in 28 countries so far, with a strong presence in South East Asia, the Middle East, and on the African continent.

Traditionally, streaming services using the classic subscription-based model have faced several roadblocks in emerging markets. For example, online payment solutions require the existence of telecommunication and internet infrastructure which oftentimes lack strength and reliance in those markets, making it difficult to collect the subscription fees.

Furthermore, piracy has been widespread since the analog days, and has only grown in scope with the digital revolution.

Answering Piracy and Lack of Online Payment Options

To circumvent both of these issues, iflix, which has been headquartered in Kuala Lumpur since its creation in 2014, has established contracts with local telecommunication services.

By partnering with data and cell service providers, iflix uses phone plans to secure payment for their subscriptions. Such a system also helps guarantee internet quality, an incentive to use the service rather than watch bootlegged content.

Thanks to that development model, the company is now uniquely positioned to reach audiences whose purchasing and viewing habits have so far been unfamiliar to traditional streaming services.

Combined with an affordable pricing plan, iflix has settled itself in the South Asian market as a promising company. They are also well funded: iflix has recently attracted investment from the Walt Disney Company and the European giant Sky.

Access to Binge-Watching Audiences on Three Continents

iflix first grew in Southeast Asia after its creation in 2014, expanding from Malaysia to Indonesia, Philippines, Brunei, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. Through its local approach to those markets, iflix has repeatedly emphasized its difference from Netflix and Amazon, whose target is mainly upper middle-class audiences. iflix prices its plan at a fifth of its competitors’.

Following investment from Koweit-based telecommunication company Zain in 2017, iflix entered the MENA region: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, Sudan, and Morocco.

Now, the company wants “Africans to subscribe for the price of a “pirated DVD””, planning to expand into six sub-Saharan African countries: Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Uganda. In those countries, an unprecedented challenge will be to “reduce buffering over slow and expensive internet connections”. iflix’s strategy is to offer different download and streaming options depending on the quality of the viewers’ internet connections.

Ease of navigation and additional service features

iflix makes it intuitive for its viewers to find and watch the content they want with features such as channels, playlists, offline viewing, and different subscription models to suit its audiences’ varied needs. With per-visit duration typically ranging between 105–150 minutes, iflix viewers are binge-watchers, eager for new content.

iflix curates its catalog and is available on iOS, Android, Windows, and Chromecast.

Conclusion: iflix gives Filmhub filmmakers access to new and engaged audiences

Adding to Filmhub’s other partners in Asia, the iflix distribution agreement furthers its filmmakers’ access to some of the fastest growing markets in the world. iflix successfully solved classic emerging market roadblocks — for example by partnering with local telecommunication services — which has enabled them to find and retain eager, engaged viewers.

This brings new opportunities for our filmmakers, especially in regards to geographic reach to new audiences, on top of providing new revenue opportunities.

“This agreement is a true milestone for our market network’s growth, and furthers our filmmakers’ access to a truly global audience,” says Adam Telanoff, co-founder and COO. “iflix’s place as a pioneering streaming channel in Asia and the Middle East is a great opportunity for our filmmakers to reach new types of audiences: engaged, sizable, and eager for content.”

With its secure position in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, iflix’s development in the African market is only getting started and promises Filmhub’s filmmakers access to an expanding audience.