The Vietnam Multimedia Corporation (VTC) earlier this year unexpectedly refused to attend an event honoring content creators held in HCM City.
Sources say that VTC is developing a content distribution channel of its own – VTC Now – which will compete with YouTube.
OTT TV fever
As estimated by Value Penguin based on the number of downloads in 2017, YouTube dominates OTT market of streaming video.
In 13 surveyed markets, YouTube does not operate in China because of the Chinese government’s policies. It ranks second in Japan and No 1 in Vietnam and a number of other countries.
However, analysts can see the strong rise of local apps which also have long reach in the market. They include Zing, FPT Play, VTVCab On, VTVGo and V Live, four-fifths of which are apps that provide OTT TV services.
V Live, an app from the South Korean Naver, debuted in Vietnam in 2016. With content focused on K-biz, popular with local youth, the app has joined the group of five OTT TV apps with the biggest numbers of downloads.
Most recently, in April 2018, Kwai, a Chinese social network, app began in Vietnam. Kwai has advantages in content – Chinese dramas and game shows which young people like.
Big players
An analyst said that in developing OTT TV, the content will determine the number of viewers.
VTV Go has been attracting viewers with exclusive programs including sports, entertainment and movies. It is estimated that VTV Go has 6 million installs and nearly 9 million views on web.
Pham Anh Chien, director of VTV Digital, which developed VTV Go, once said that developing OTT TV to retain audiences is the company’s long-term strategy.
Besides VTV, VTC is also a big player. After merging with the Voice of Vietnam (VOV), VTC has focused on digital content development, especially on social network platforms.
VTC has been effectively developing content on YouTube with many channels. VTC1 channel now has nearly 1.3 million subscribers and 2 billion followers. It is listed among top 10 channels on YouTube with best quality as assessed by Social Blade.
However, sources said that VTC is no longer interested in YouTube and that the corporation is planning to set up a content distribution network of its own, VTC Now.
It’s still too early to say about VTC Now’s performance, but its development partners, Accedo, Akamai and Brighcove, the world’s leading OTT developers, show its potential.
By: Chi Nam
Source: VietNamNet
