iWorld
Online video thrives: Local content vital for subscriber growth
Mumbai: The Asia Video Industry Association held its annual OTT Summit in Singapore on 5 December, where over 90 per cent of the speakers were senior female executives from across the video industry in Asia Pacific. This year’s summit was designed to try and redress the gender imbalance seen in many industry conferences.
The Summit opened with Media Partners Asia lead analyst, head of content & platform insights Dhivya T presenting an overview of the state of streaming in Asia, a market where competition was very much driven by a battle for share of time, with premium video on demand (VOD) fighting with social media and user-generated content (UGC).
Competition was also giving rise to new business models and strategies beyond the traditional AVOD and SVOD models, including mobile gaming, e-commerce and bundle subscriptions becoming more common. And with a higher focus on increasing ARPUs, price increases have also become prevalent.
Ex-China, online video revenues in Asia Pacific were expected to hit US$46 billion in 2028, up from US$29 billion this year. While SVOD was expected to have a CAGR of 6.4 per cent, premium AVOD will see a growth rate of almost 18 per cent, led by Japan, India, and Korea. In Southeast Asia, Indonesia was emerging as the leading market for AVOD, with Thailand for SVOD.
In terms of content trends and investment, although pay TV remained the largest vertical, online video was the growth engine of video content investment, with local and Asian content leading premium VOD viewership with the highest reach. Hence local content remained key to acquiring subscribers in the region, and constantly over-indexing with new users.
In the world of streaming, Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV (FAST) was also much talked about at the summit as the new kid on the block, as it mimicked the experience of linear TV, delivering scheduled content, with advertising included. Driving the growth of FAST in Asia was the penetration of Smart TVs in the region, with 80 per cent of OTT viewers in APAC using Connected TV (CTV), and with one-third of OTT viewing on CTV, shared Samsung Ads APAC Head of Product Marketing Samantha Cooke, But FAST channels were not always about making money, as FAST was also used for marketing, outreach and brand building, added Brightcove senior product marketing manager Roberta Cambio.
Senior marketers from the major platforms too chimed in on the importance of brand building, as the mantra was no longer acquiring subscribers at all costs but focusing on keeping the ones you have. For Shemaroo Entertainment chief marketing officer Anuja Trivedi, marketing was now more aligned with the business, as consumers who saw campaigns engaged better as well. And partnerships which build more value can only build more excitement for the product and engagement for the platform, said Trivedi Akamai Technologies Senior Solutions Engineer Sarah Lim also added that people, platform and technology were what will help drive your strategy forward for the future. “Marketing is greater than the sum of its parts,” said Lim.
With 71 per cent of viewers in APAC watching advertising-supported streaming on top of linear TV viewing, Chair for Media & Measurement, AAMS & CEO, OMG Singapore Chloe Neo was also seeing growth from regional clients with a greater inclination to look at branding, with the reallocation of budgets into OTT tending to be from the big brands, due to their expectations on quality content. While 20/F Leighton Centre, 77 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong | 5008 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5, #04-09 Techplace II Singapore 569874 avia.org investment was coming from the linear TV side, more clients were now embracing CTV and addressability for strategic benefit, and not just for incremental reach, added GroupM CIO Southeast & North Asia, Chair, APAC Investment Committee Anita Munro.
A strong focus on content closed off the Summit, with panellists agreeing that Asian content could not be lumped together. There was a huge variety within what is labelled Chinese or Indian content. ZEE5 chief content officer Hindi originals Nimisha Pandey emphasised that storytelling trumped investment. “Audiences don’t care how much money has gone into content, if it connects, it connects,” she said.
Viu chief of content acquisition and development Marianne Lee noted, “Each local market has their own strategy which complements the regional strategy. While it is important for the content to travel outside, the content must also do well locally,” said Lee. In agreement, ASTRO director of content Agnes Rozario added, “There will always be certain types of content that travel better than others. But it has to work in the home market first.”
One market which saw things a little differently was Thailand where True Corporation deputy director of planning & business development strategic content group Kirana Cheewachuen saw huge potential in the overseas growth and popularity of Thai content, and international success was her primary goal.
Sharing her strategy for the Pacific Rim in the closing session, Paramount ANZ, EVP chief content officer head of paramount + Beverly McGarvey said that Australia was a mature market at a pivotal point now as audiences were adjusting between more traditional legacy media and streaming. Hence accelerating growth in streaming while maintaining linear businesses and making content that can work across platforms was what was needed to remain viable.
The OTT Summit is proudly sponsored by Gold Sponsors Brightcove, INVIDI, Nagra, Warner Bros Discovery; Silver Sponsors Akamai, Broadpeak, CDNetworks, Irdeto, Moloco, Publica, PubMatic, Shemaroo; Bronze Sponsor Dolby.
iWorld
Netflix cuts jobs in product division amid restructuring
Layoffs hit creative studio unit as leadership and strategy shifts unfold.
MUMBAI: The streaming wars may be fought on screen, but the latest plot twist is unfolding behind the scenes. Netflix has reportedly begun laying off several dozen employees from its product division as part of an internal reorganisation, according to a report by Variety. The cuts are believed to have primarily affected the company’s creative studio unit, which works on marketing assets such as in app trailers, promotional visuals and live experience content for the streaming platform.
The company has not disclosed the exact number of employees impacted.
According to the report, the layoffs were not tied to employee performance. Instead, the restructuring eliminated certain roles while other employees were reassigned to different teams within the organisation.
The roles affected are understood to include designers, producers and creative specialists responsible for marketing and brand experience initiatives.
The job cuts come as Netflix adjusts its leadership structure and reshapes its product and creative teams. Last month, Elizabeth Stone was promoted from chief technology officer to chief product and technology officer, giving her oversight of product, engineering and data operations across the company.
Earlier, in December 2025, Netflix also appointed Martin Rose as head of creative for global brand and partnerships, a move seen as part of a broader restructuring of the company’s brand and product functions.
Despite the layoffs, Netflix remains one of the largest employers in the streaming sector. The company is estimated to employ around 16,000 people globally, with roughly 70 percent of its workforce based in the United States and Canada. In 2023, the company reported approximately 13,000 employees, indicating that its headcount had grown significantly before the latest restructuring.
The workforce changes arrive at a time when Netflix is navigating a shifting financial and strategic landscape in the global entertainment industry.
The streaming giant recently secured $2.8 billion in additional cash after receiving a breakup fee from Paramount Skydance following its withdrawal from a deal involving Warner Bros. Discovery.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Netflix co chief executive Ted Sarandos explained that the company had evaluated multiple scenarios during the negotiations but chose not to match the competing offer once it learned that a higher bid had been submitted.
Netflix had capped its offer at $27.75 per share and ultimately stepped back rather than pursue Paramount’s $111 billion acquisition deal, which included a personal guarantee.
Sarandos also cautioned that the financing structure behind the Paramount Skydance transaction could have ripple effects across the entertainment industry.
According to him, the debt heavy deal could trigger significant cost cutting, with David Ellison, chief executive of Paramount Skydance, expected to eliminate about $16 billion in costs and potentially cut thousands of jobs as part of the integration process.
For Netflix, the current restructuring appears to be part of a broader attempt to streamline operations while continuing to invest in product, technology and global content even as the streaming industry enters a new phase of consolidation and financial discipline.
