Dubai: Don’t give up on the TV set. Or the desktop PC. Even in this age of the web TV and its emphasis on catching viewers on the move.
“From the online consumer feedback we’ve been getting, viewers want to see streamed content on a combination of devices, and that includes larger screens,” said Nickhil Jakatdar, founder and CEO of Vuclip, the provider of mobile-based video on demand and with 8 million subscribers.
“The initial hype surrounding web TV was that it would work only on mobile screens. But the bet on mobiles might need a rethink — viewers while at home still believe in content delivered on to their bigger screens.”
To this end, Vuclip — which is now transitioning for a full-scale launch of its services in the UAE and Middle East — plans to make its content viewable across screens. It will first do so in Malaysia and much the same is anticipated when it ramps up coverage in these markets.
“It’s not the case that a web TV subscriber will view content for 20 minutes or more at a stretch ... there are invariably breaks happening across the viewership experience,” said Jakatdar. “He could watch for a few minutes then wait for hours before taking up the rest of the programme. Again, this allows us to widen the screen options available to the viewer.
“It’s far easier for a mobile-only platform to expand across to larger screens — with TV there are only one or two formats such as 2K and 4K to deal with. The same with desktops.
“But the reverse — from large screen to mobile — can be more difficult because of the fragmentation of mobile platforms. There are so many screen sizes and operating systems to deal with.”
Vuclip has been in beta test mode in the UAE for some time now, while it focused on launches in Southeast Asia. The company’s focus has been on getting its base right in key emerging markets rather than compete for subscribers across all territories. With 8 million “paying” subscribers and at an average of $2 (Dh7.34) a quarter, Vuclip clearly has gone in for the high volume game plan.
The Middle East exposure will give another boost to the viewer numbers, more so as “in a market like the UAE the amount of online TV consumption outshines every other market by a factor of 10:1,” the CEO said. “In this regard, the UAE is more like the US.
“A big plus has to do with the network infrastructure here ... for video delivery, that has to be one of the critical elements.”
Vuclip is certainly not alone in wising up to the market potential. The undisputed global market leader Netflix, which had 45 million subscribers in the US alone by end 2015, added more than 100 markets, including the UAE, to its reach in one day. Starz has been in play for some time now, while regional pay-TV pioneer OSN is working towards a high profile on multiple delivery channels. Qatar’s beIN is also out to make a mark.
Jakatdar says he is not fazed by the extent of the competition. “There are about 30 companies competing in this video on demand space across global markets. It will take time to build a real business making profits.
“But while the game has changes, the rules remain the same. I believe we have it to be among the last few standing (when the industry moves into consolidation).”
Pricing of the services will be a key, and more so in the emerging markets that Vuclip targets. It will not help if the content consumption via mobile ends up eating away at the viewer’s monthly data package.
“You have to careful with the pricing — if someone is charging $9 a month, that’s a third of an average cable bill in the US,” said Jakatdar. “But that’s still three times what a cable TV subscriber in India will have to pay for.
“Also, there can’t be too much of advertising (to compensate for a low subscription fee), because ads add to the viewer’s frustration and significantly eats into the data plan.”
