Reference News Network August 14 report - According to the website of the "Nikkei" on August 12, Chinese companies are increasing their presence in the Southeast Asian streaming service market. The leading streaming company iQIYI plans to launch original content in Thailand, and Tencent's idol talent shows are also very popular. Chinese companies are pushing for content localization and catching up with American companies such as Netflix.

According to the report, "Southeast Asia is our most important market outside of mainland China, and we are shifting our strategic focus to original content," said the head of iQIYI's Thai branch at a technology event held in Bangkok in July.

iQIYI is a subsidiary of Baidu, one of China's Internet giants, and is often referred to as "China's Netflix." Since 2019, iQIYI has expanded its services to Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia. It has attracted a large number of users through ad-supported free viewing and low-cost services. Its monthly active users in Southeast Asia have reached 36 million.

The report stated that iQIYI provides thousands of works locally, more than 60% of which are Chinese. In the future, iQIYI plans to create a unique variety show for Thailand.

iQIYI also plans to launch original content in Indonesia and Malaysia by 2025. In June this year, iQIYI partnered with an Indonesian telecommunications company to launch a streaming service, and will also jointly produce six TV dramas with a local studio to promote iQIYI's streaming service to the company's approximately 170 million signed-up users in Indonesia.

iQIYI's competitor Tencent also launched its streaming platform WeTV in Southeast Asia in 2019, focusing on original content. Starting from 2024, Tencent has introduced talent shows in Thailand and other areas where local artists participate, and the seven-member male group NexT1DE formed at the end of the program made their debut in Thailand in April 2025, with rising popularity.

According to the report, two American companies, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, launched streaming services in Southeast Asia since 2016, and the market size has continued to expand. According to the market share statistics based on the number of paying users by the French market research company Dataxis, in the first quarter of 2025, American companies still dominated the Southeast Asian market, with a market share of nearly 60% in Singapore.

However, Chinese companies are rapidly catching up. In Thailand, their market share has reached about 40%, while that of American companies is about 30%. In addition to iQIYI and WeTV, the Viu platform under Hong Kong telecom giant PCCW also holds a significant share. Given that Chinese companies mainly offer free viewing packages with advertisements, the actual number of users may be higher.

Hiroyuki Hashimoto, a project manager at Roland Berger Consulting, pointed out: "There are a large number of Chinese people in Southeast Asia, which is a favorable factor for Chinese companies. Some people believe that half of the content that Thai audiences like comes from China."

Although the Southeast Asian streaming market is not as large as that of China and the United States, Chinese companies view it as a new growth point. With a large young population and growing income among locals, the Southeast Asian market has vast growth potential. According to the German data platform Statista, the Southeast Asian streaming market is expected to reach $6.8 billion by 2030, a 49% increase from 2024.

If Chinese companies can continue to expand their services in the content-driven streaming market, the influence of Chinese brands in Southeast Asia may further strengthen. (Translated by Liu Lin)

The iQIYI application displayed on a mobile phone (AFP)

Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7538257911429087784/

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