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Tag: Telekom Malaysia

  • Starz streamer Lionsgate Play launched in Malaysia

    Starz streamer Lionsgate Play launched in Malaysia

    Mumbai: In continuation of its expansion in Asia, Lionsgate-owned Starz on Friday announced the launch of its independent direct-to-consumer OTT app Lionsgate Play in Malaysia. The service is being introduced in association with Telekom Malaysia (Unifi TV).

    “We are thrilled to launch the eagerly-anticipated Lionsgate Play app in Malaysia, delivering the finest global entertainment to captivate our audiences with bespoke content encompassing current releases and our vast premium library, all at an affordable price and at consumers’ convenience,” said Lionsgate Play MD of South Asia and networks – emerging markets Asia Rohit Jain. 

    “We are also pleased to launch with a great partner in Telekom Malaysia, who will give us a strong head start in the territory with their broadband reach and deep streaming offering,” Jain added.

    Lionsgate Play debuted in India in 2019 and the subsequent expansion took it into Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and, most recently, the Philippines.

    “This partnership will solidify our strong consumer offering with an extensive premium library. Lionsgate Play boasts iconic, bold and edgy content that is gripping and will be loved by our subscribers,” said Telekom’s content head for Unifi TV Ho Hock Doong.

    Lionsgate Play Malaysia will bring blockbuster film franchises such as “The Hunger Games”, “The Twilight Saga” and “Now You See Me” as well as popular and critically acclaimed TV series “Weeds,” “Power,” “Mad Men” and “The Spanish Princess” among others, to Malaysian audiences.

  • Asian OTTs use global, local content, AVoD and SVoD mix to consolidate position, says report

    Asian OTTs use global, local content, AVoD and SVoD mix to consolidate position, says report

    MUMBAI: Over-the-Top services are steadily gaining traction in APAC, but succeeding in a highly diverse and price-sensitive market will entail a thorough understanding of consumer preferences and intent.

    OTT players in the region are already partnering with mobile operators to drive subscribership. Examples include Viu’s various partnerships with Telekom Malaysia, Maxis and U Mobile in Malaysia, Indosat in Indonesia, CSL in Hong Kong and Idea cellular in India among others.

    A new report, “OTT Video in Asia-Pacific: Localised content and business models are key while mobile will offer opportunity for future video growth” has been added to the repository of Market Research Hub (MRH).

    Strategies of the four key OTT video service providers have been discussed in the report in the form of four case studies. The key OTT video service providers profiled in the case studies include Netflix, iflix, Viu, and Hotstar.

    The success of OTT services in any market depends upon a host of factors, with viewer awareness and receptiveness among the key factors. Smartphone ownership, cellular and broadband penetration levels, and pay-TV subscription are the other key factors that influence the scope of OTT video services in a market.

    The APAC region remains diverse, with a significant variation in internet and broadband penetration levels. Further, owing to lax piracy laws, a significant section of the consumer base is habitual of downloading pirated copies from the internet. In view of these factors, many OTT video service providers are using a mix of AVoD and SVoD to consolidate their position.

    According to the report, content remains an integral part of overall viewer experience in APAC. OTT video service providers have realised the importance of high-quality content, as a result of which, content production has gained prominence. Further, increase in smartphone ownership and launch of 4G services in several APAC countries are leading to collaboration between telecom service providers and OTT video service providers.

    According to the report, OTT service providers in countries that have low OTT readiness can commence with AVoD services to raise awareness and interest among viewers. The report comments that this strategy has helped Hotstar and Viu in gaining a significant foothold in the APAC OTT video services market.

    However, AVoD as a business model is likely to face a lot of challenges, on account of high cost of content acquisition. Further, relying on one particular form of content may not work, and OTT service providers may have to rely on a mix of local and international content to appeal to a wider target audience.

  • Spice Telecom plans $150 mn IPO

    Spice Telecom plans $150 mn IPO

    BANGALORE: Karnataka’s first mobile telephony service provider Spice Telecom (Spice) has plans for a public issue totaling $150 million.

    Modicorp (51% stake) along with Telekom Malaysia (49% stake) own Spice. The red herring prospectus will be filed with Sebi and the IPO is likely to open in end March this year with Spice to planning to dilute around 15-20% of their stake.

    Spice has recently been awarded a railway outsourcing contract by IRCTC to provide services to the customers for a payment of Rs 1 billion over 10 years. The scope of work includes providing customers with information services across India, IVR, information and other services. The voice call to IVR ratio is around 20:80 according to Spice officials. The contract commences from March this year.

    Spice is present in 2 circles – Karnataka and Punjab with a customer base of around 2.5million of the total 100 million plus Indian subscribers. India has over 6000 railway stations and almost 80-90% of these are covered by mobile service providers. Spice is in negotiations with other service providers for carriage and other services in the other circles. This contract means that over the next ten years other service providers can provide railway information only through Spice.

    To ramp up and meet the service requirements, Spice plans to set up 4 regional hubs all over the country. This contract has been obtained by an equally shared joint venture between Spice and Spanco Telesystems (Spanco) from Mumbai. Spanco are to be the hardware system integrators for this venture.

    Speaking during a press briefing in Bangalore yesterday, Modicorp chairman BK Modi said, “Railways cover the length and breadth of the country physically, Spice will help connect the country telephonically,” while announcing that Spice planned to have kiosks on every platform in the country, where valid passengers can pick up sub $20/- mobile and with a Rs 50/- chip that can receive incoming calls free.

    “Currently we were lacking in distribution. Now with 6,000 railway stations we can take telephony to the bottom of the pyramid, a mobile is no longer a luxury, it is a necessity, and with 4 billion passengers that travel by train, the aim for reaching a subscriber base of 500 million by 2010 could be met even earlier,” Modi said.

    Spice along with Taiwanese suppliers provide low end as well as high end mobile phone instruments.

    Unconfirmed reports also indicate that Bollywood diva Katrina Kaif has been appointed brand ambassador for Spice. Priyanka Chopra, whose three year contract ends in December 2007, will also continue as brand ambassador, a company source says.
     

  • Telekom Malaysia acquires 49% stake in Spice Telecom

    Telekom Malaysia acquires 49% stake in Spice Telecom

    MUMBAI: Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) has secured a critical piece in its regional footprint, with the acquisition a 49 per cent stake in India’s Spice Communications Pvt Ltd (Spice) for a consideration of $178.85 million.

    The acquisition, made through TM’s international investment holding company TM International Sdn Bhd (TMI) involved the purchase of the stake held by Deutsche Bank AG and Ashmore Investment Management Limited consortium (DBA).

    The remaining 51 per cent remains with the existing shareholders, the Mcorp Global Ltd and its associates (Mcorp).

    A statement jointly released in Kuala Lumpur and New Delhi stated that the definitive agreements governing the transaction were executed in Kuala Lumpur today. Completion of the transaction is expected within a month, subject to closing conditions and regulatory approvals. A media conference-cum-briefing explaining the transaction was also held in Kuala Lumpur jointly by senior TM and Mcorp officials.

    Spice is a privately held company incorporated in India providing cellular telecom services in the states of Punjab and Karnataka. The company commenced operations in 1997 after receiving its cellular licences from the Government of India.

    With the company’s recent decision to migrate to the Unified Acess Licensing regime, the scope of services allowable has since broadened to further include full and limited mobility fixed and wireline services, VAS, as well as broadband services.

    Through new applications, the company is also in the process of obtaining licences for 6 new circles (namely Jammu/Kashmir, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh West/East), as well as National Long Distance (NLD) and International Long Distance (ILD) licences.

    According to TM chairman Tan Sri Mohd Radzi Mansor, the proposed investment is consistent with TM’s objectives of becoming a significant mobile player in the Asian markets, and to participate in the growth opportunities in the Indian cellular market. TM, which has re-strategised its international investments to focus on regional markets closer to Malaysia, has strong presence in the Asia Pacific region, with investments in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Cambodia, Singapore and Pakistan.

    “India is the missing piece in our regional footprint. Now with Spice as part of the TM family, it strengthens our regional presence and complements our existing presence in Sri Lanka where we are the number one, and Bangladesh where we are the number two mobile operator. We are excited about sharing our experience and learn more about the Indian market from Spice,” he said.

    “With Punjab being the most prosperous state in the country and Karnataka dubbed as the “Silicon Valley” of India, there is tremendous potential for mobile telephony in these markets. We are optimistic that Spice will contribute positively to the overall performance of TM in the near future” he added.

    TM Group CEO Dato’ Abdul Wahid Omar described organic growth as the key approach for creating shareholder value in Spice. “Apart from growth through new cellular circles expansion, we are excited about the implementation of other services under the Unified Access licensing regime. TM and its partner Mcorp will seek to grow Spice to be a market leader in the geographies it operates in, including attaining a pan-India presence,” he said.

    “Spice customers today join TM’s global mobile subscriber base of over 20 million. Apart from TM’s operational and management experience both in Malaysia and key Asian regional markets, Spice customers stand to benefit from through the creation and innovation of new products and services, sharing of technological experience and implementation, and the leveraging of group synergies such as in global procurement,” he further added.

    Mcorp Global chairman Dr B K Modi described India and Malaysia as natural allies and which have strong historic cultural ties, and share the same values and aspirations.

    “Today, both countries are at the forefront of the revolution in information, communication and entertainment (ICE) technologies and have much to offer each other. Together, they could become a powerful force to take Asian companies to an entirely new globally competitive level,” he said.

    “We are totally committed to the principles of enhancing human productivity – boosting the prosperity of the entire Asia Pacific region, and promoting global peace for the sake of all humanity. It is now time to redefine our relationship, rewrite our destiny, and reinvent the future. I am confident our strategic partnership with TM will create a new synergy and help us in maximizing growth in one of the world’s fastest growing markets,” Modi added.

    Dr Modi also described Spice as the pioneering brand of mobile telephony in India, committed to becoming the most preferred choice for energetic young minds through synchronised performance in ICE products and services. Spice, he said, has been built on the bedrock of its values: fun, innovation, vibrancy, empathetic, trustworthy and fast to respond. It has a presence in two of the high potential markets of Punjab and Karnataka.

    Lazard India were sole financial advisors to TM and TMI on this transaction.