Southeast Asia’s premium video-on-demand (VOD) market continued robust growth in 2024 as Netflix cemented its lead and Max debuted strongly, according to a report from Media Partners Asia (MPA).
Revenues surged 14% to reach $1.8bn and total viewership hit 440 billion minutes, a 7% year-on-year increase. The growth was fuelled by Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia, offsetting a slight slowdown in Thailand.
Indonesia led the market with $552m in revenue, followed by Thailand at around $473 million.
The final quarter of 2024 was a period of significant expansion, with 3.2 million new SVOD subscriptions, bringing the regional total to 53.6 million in Southeast Asia – a 12% year-on-year increase. Key highlights include:
Netflix continued to dominate, capturing 48% of Q4 additions in the region, fuelled by a content slate of Korean, US, and local productions. Netflix has announced 14 original productions for Indonesia and Thailand in 2025. Netflix ended 2024 with more than 12 million customers combined across Southeast Asia’s five key markets.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max entered the market in November 2024 and captured 26% of Q4 net customer additions, driven by strong performance in Thailand. Subscriber growth is expected this year as new originals debut, such as season three of The White Lotus. Max ended the year with more than 1.4 million subscribers in Southeast Asia.
While Netflix leads with a 52% viewership share and 42% revenue share, competition is growing in Indonesia and Thailand from local players such as Vidio, which led the Indonesia market with 4.7 million subscribers in 2024, and regional players like Viu, which ended 2024 with 9.5 million customers in the region.
Disney+ continued to maintain a 10% revenue share in Southeast Asia after repricing and repackaging its service.
Korean content remains highly popular, driving significant viewership and acquisition, with dramas including Queen Of Tears, My Demon, and Gyeongseong Creature on Netflix. Meanwhile, US content accounts for 20% of VOD viewership, driven by Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video.
However, Southeast Asian and Chinese content is on the rise, capturing a growing share of freemium viewership and new subscriber acquisition on SVOD. Local originals are proving successful, driven by players such as Vidio and Viu. Japanese anime also continues to perform well, particularly on SVOD platforms in Thailand.
“Southeast Asia’s streaming landscape is evolving rapidly,” said Vivek Couto, executive director of MPA. “While Netflix has solidified its leadership position, the category is growing with the entry of Max and the scaling of local and regional platforms like Vidio, Viu and TrueID.
“The next phase of growth will be fuelled by the expansion of connected TV (CTV) and home broadband penetration. Continued investment in local / Asian content and premium sports, led by Netflix and key local and regional platforms in Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia, will further stimulate growth.
“The industry is also exploring new strategies focused on short-form content and bundling partnerships to attract and retain subscribers.”
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