Iflix switches away from SVOD to ad-supported model

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Pan-Asian streaming service iflix is switching its revenue model away from subscription VOD towards an advertising-supported model that the company says is more appropriate for emerging markets.

Described as iflix 3.0, the new model includes a service branded as iflix FREE – a free tier including a curated movie of the day and premium short form content, produced by iflix’s recently announced Studio 2.15.

Iflix FREE will also stream regional and international TV series, including The Grand Prince, My First Love and Poroporo; promotional episodes from premium series such as Dexter, Good Behaviour and Korea’s Descendants Of The Sun; and iflix original series such as Indonesian teen romance Magic Hour, Malaysian action series KL Gangster: Underworld, and the Philippines’ Exit 49, starring Kris Aquino.

iflix co-founder and CEO, Mark Britt, said: “When we began iflix, we naively believed that the Western entertainment model could easily succeed in emerging markets, and that price would be the primary customer pain point. Looking back now, we realise how superficial that view was.

“Having now served 30,000 years of content to more than 12 million customers across 30 markets, we have a much deeper understanding of the localisation requirements, and infrastructure, payments and authentication issues within our territories. The data and learnings we’ve acquired from solving these challenges, today enables us to build a product exclusively for emerging market customers and challenge many of the traditional metaphors that exist within our industry.”

The free tier will also include a ‘Live Hub’ including local linear free-to-air and pay-TV channels, live premium sporting competitions and other events.