PCCW Launches Viu OTT video services in India and Malaysia

PCCW Media, a key global player in the entertainment industry, has launched Viu over-the-top (OTT) mobile video entertainment service in India and Malaysia.

Offered as a freemium service, Viu provides viewers in both markets with free access to thousands of hours of premium content for local users. For Viu India, consumers get free access to a vast archive of premium content from Bollywood and Hollywood top studios such as Media Prima, Sony Pictures, Sony Music, BBC, CBS, etc. Exciting fresh content includes over 17,000 hours of “First on Viu Bollywood” Indian movies and the latest music videos in India. In addition, at launch, a Viu Originals’ freewheeling chat show, "What the Duck", co-createdwith Fluence, CA Media Digital’s celebrity network, will premiere on March 3. Hosted by standup comedian, cricket humorist and author Vikram Sathaye, each of the 10 episodes of the series will feature a cricket celebritywith interesting anecdotes and insightful stories.

Viu India viewers can choose to subscribe to premium service which is ad-free with access to additional quality content. Viu India service is well-supported with Samsung, eBay and FreeCharge. Samsung Android mobile phone users get an exclusive three-month trial while eBay and FreeCharge offers various promotional offers and flexible payment options.

As for Viu Malaysia, its rich content comprises the latest Korean drama and variety series from the top four South Korea broadcasters namely SBS, KBS, MBC and CJ E&M, as well as Chinese, Bollywood, Tamil, Indonesian and Malaysian programmes to bring together a locally relevant content offering that appeals to viewers in Malaysia.

Selected Korean and Bollywood content are localized with Chinese and Bahasa Melayusubtitling. As in India, viewers in Malaysia can choose to subscribe to ad-free premium service with access to additional premium content through Viu’s telecoms partner, Telekom Malaysia Berhad.

Additional exciting content will be available from regional and international marquee studios for Viu in India and Malaysia as Vuclip already has long term partnerships with more than 250 top studios globally.Vuclip, a PCCW Media company, is a mobile video entertaining platform with over 9 million subscribers in 10 markets.

Commenting on the launch, Janice Lee, Managing Director of PCCW Media Group said, “Viu has been very well-received in Hong Kong and Singapore and it consistently tops the charts in free app downloads. The quick deployment and launch of Viu in Malaysia and India following hot on the heels of our Singapore launch in mid-January bears testament to our commitment to become the pre-eminent provider of mobile video entertainment service in Asia. We have every confidence in Viu’s success in these markets given our appealing content and the support of our strategic partners in these markets."

Viu is deployed with its patented Dynamic Adaptive TranscodingTM technology, and leverages Vuclip’s eight-year history of providing streaming video on demand entertainment experiences to emerging markets.

Viu will continue to be rolled out in Indonesia in the coming months. Viu is an expanded service capitalizing on PCCW's investment into Vuclip in 2014. Viu is accessible via mobile phones and tablets as well as desktops by downloading the Viu app on Google Play in India and Malaysia or by typing in www.viu.com on your desktop browser. It will also be made available in the Apple App Store soon.