Thailand's Streaming Dominance: A Deep Dive into Southeast Asia's SVOD Leader
Thailand has emerged as the biggest premium SVOD market in Southeast Asia, according to Media Partners Asia (MPA). This is a testament to the country's thriving film and TV industries, which have been steadily growing and attracting significant attention. In a presentation at the Taiwan Creative Content Fest, MPA's Executive Director and Co-founder, Vivek Couto, offered an in-depth analysis of this $1.4 billion market, highlighting its robust animation sector and its role as a hub for foreign films.
The animation sector in Thailand is particularly impressive, generating around $170 million annually and showing signs of continued growth. Government support, including a 30% cash rebate scheme, has been instrumental in fostering this growth. As a result, Thailand has become the region's most successful foreign film hub, attracting over $100 million in annual spending.
MPA's data reveals that premium SVOD accounts for a substantial 35% of the market's value, making it the largest subscription video market in Southeast Asia. This is a significant increase from 2020 when SVOD accounted for only 14% of the market. Thailand's SVOD household penetration is currently the highest in the region at 36%, surpassing Malaysia at 35% and Vietnam at 25%. MPA predicts this trend will continue, estimating a 47% penetration rate by 2030.
The popularity of streaming services in Thailand is evident in the consumption patterns. Netflix leads the market with a 26% share of streaming hours in 2024, closely followed by the local platform TrueID at 22%. Chinese streamer WeTV and Hong Kong-based Viu also have notable shares of 17% and 11%, respectively.
In terms of subscription volume, TrueID takes the lead with a 23% share of the total 16.4 million subscribers, followed by Viu at 15% and Netflix at 13%. However, when it comes to monetization, Netflix dominates with a 39% share of the overall $124 million market, followed by TrueID at 15% and Viu at 12%.
The investment in streaming content is on the rise, with an estimated growth from $105 million in 2022 to $195 million this year. Netflix, in particular, has invested around $50 million. Between 2021 and 2024, Netflix poured $200 million into Thai content, resulting in over 15 Thai titles featuring in its global top ten non-English lists, including the drama series 'Master Of The House' and 'Mad Unicorn'.
While Thai-language content is popular, Chinese dramas have become the most engaging category in Thailand, accounting for a 30% share. Local dramas follow with a 21% share, while animation and Korean dramas have 20% and 17% shares, respectively. Local productions are the primary driver for customer acquisition, with a 35% share, compared to 24% for C-drama, 20% for K-drama, and 14% for animation.
The BL (Boys' Love) and GL (Girls' Love) genres dominate the local content market, with a 24% share, followed by drama at 22% and horror at 19%.
Couto explains the growing popularity of C-dramas by citing cost-effectiveness, ease of purchase, and cultural factors. He predicts that Chinese dramas will continue to gain traction in the next five to ten years. However, he also notes that this trend might change rapidly as microdramas from China and other territories are starting to gain popularity on free streaming tiers in Thailand, similar to other Southeast Asian markets.
Looking ahead, Couto forecasts that the Thai market will grow to approximately $1.5 billion over the next five years, with streaming services increasing their share. Despite the significant contribution of free and pay-TV, which generated around $820 million in revenue last year, streaming is expected to add around $400 million to the ecosystem, making it the largest in the region. TV revenue is projected to decline by about 7% annually.
