#Asia Move over, Netflix; Singtel’s Hooq service is finally streaming in Singapore

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The service will also offer prepaid streaming bundles for mobile users

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Hooq, the streaming service established through a joint venture by Singtel, Sony Pictures Television and Warner Bros. Entertainment, is finally streaming in Singapore.

According to the Straits Times, the service has a catalogue of 20,000 movies and TV shows both from Hollywood and Asian genres, as well as original content from regional and local filmmakers and producers.

Initially launched in the Philippines, Hooq has since expanded to Thailand, India and Indonesia. With its availability in Singapore, it competes head on with market leader Netflix, as well as iflix, the so-called ‘Asian Netflix’.

The entertainment industry has pivoted toward streaming, and California (USA)-based Netflix likewise had a first-mover advantage in the streaming business, so far becoming the dominant player, at least in its home market. But since the video streaming business is highly content-driven, this means that service providers will need to craft their strategies (and legal capabilities) really well in order to break into international markets.

In Asia, the lack of Netflix in the early days brought life to the likes of Hooq and iflix — services that provided video streaming on-demand where Netflix was not available. When Netflix finally launched in the region, customers initially complained about the limited offerings (often driven by licensing restrictions), thus keeping the regional brands competitive.

Hooq will charge a monthly subscription of S$8.98 (US$6.30) monthly or S$78.98 (US$55.22) annually. Apart from the postpaid service, Hooq has also partnered with Singtel to offer prepaid streaming data bundles starting at S$7 (US$4.89) for 1GB of streaming.

Additional packages will be available to subscribers in the coming months.

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Featured Image Copyright: andreypopov / 123RF Stock Photo

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