H1 2026 was a mixed period for Viu. Paid subscribers rose a strong 11% year on year, reaching 15.3 million, up from 13.8 million. Yet PCCW’s total OTT revenue fell from USD 153 million to USD 142 million. The EBITDA margin held at 29%, showing that further margin expansion has stalled, although it remains well above 21% in H1 2024 and 17% in H1 2023. With revenue falling, maintaining the same margin shows that cost discipline is protecting profitability rather than driving further profit growth. SVOD is healthier. Dataxis estimates H1 2026 revenue at USD 71 million, up about 5% from USD 68 million, but well below the 13% growth recorded in FY2025. Despite wider distribution, ARPU has held up relatively well. Dataxis estimates H1 2026 SVOD ARPU at USD 0.74, down just 3.9% from USD 0.77 a year earlier. That remains below global Hollywood-led platforms, but it is closer to regional services: Vidio generates roughly USD 1.28 ARPU in Indonesia, while Viu sits just slightly above MonoMax in Thailand. The comparison is imperfect across markets, but Viu’s monetisation model is more in line with local platforms than with global premium streamers. From telecom distribution to streaming bundles Viu has steadily expanded its reach: launching bundles with Astro in Malaysia in 2023; Vivo and Grab in the Philippines, Mobily and du in the Middle East, and MTN in South Africa in 2024; then deepening ties with AIS and True in Thailand, Cignal in the Philippines, and Telkomsel in Indonesia in 2025. But the more notable shift was beyond telecom distribution and into direct SVOD partnerships. In 2024, Vision+ paired Viu’s Asian catalogue with Indonesian channels, local originals and premium sports such as MotoGP and badminton. HBO Max followed in December 2025 across Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, adding Hollywood programming to Viu’s Asian offering. iQIYI brings more overlap, but also more scale But the new iQIYI partnership is different. Announced in June 2026 for launch in H2 across Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia, it overlaps more directly with Viu’s existing content strategy. Viu has built three clear content pillars in recent years: Korean programming, local Viu Originals that have performed well across Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, and an expanding Chinese catalogue. According to Dataxis, Chinese productions represented 13.5% of Viu’s APAC SVOD catalogue at the end of 2025, up from 8.7% a year earlier. That makes iQIYI less complementary than previous partners. Chinese content is one of iQIYI’s core strengths, but it is now also a major pillar for Viu. Both platforms are pushing micro-drama as well. But the overlap also explains why the partnership can work for both sides. For iQIYI, it supports further expansion in...
