Hooq Digital, a Singapore-based online streaming service backed by telecommunications firm SingTel and media groups Warner Bros Entertainment and Sony Pictures, filed for liquidation on Friday.
Founded in 2015, Hooq operates a paid on-demand video streaming service offering domestic and international films and television series. It is available in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, India and the Philippines, and has some 80 million users across those territories.
The company was formed as a joint venture by SingTel, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros. SingTel retains an indirect 76.5% stake in the company but Hooq’s liquidation will not have a material impact on its net tangible assets or share earnings, it said.
Hooq cited content providers deciding to launch their own, dedicated offerings as creating a significant challenge to attracting users and generating sustainable returns.
A spokesperson said in a statement cited by TechCrunch: “Global and local content providers are increasingly going direct, the cost of content remains high, and emerging-market consumers’ willingness to pay has increased only gradually amid an increasing array of choices.
“Because of these changes, a viable business model for an independent, OTT (over-the-top) distribution platform has become increasingly challenged.
“As a result, Hooq has not been able to grow sufficiently to provide sustainable returns nor cover escalating content costs and the continuous operating costs of an independent OTT distribution platform.”
The company last raised funding in 2017, when SingTel, Warner Bros and AXN Investment, an investment subsidiary of Sony Pictures, invested $25.2m. The same three investors had previously supplied $70m in funding for Hooq in 2015.
The decision to wind down comes just two months after Hooq was reported to be exploring an expansion of its local content that would include the production of roughly 100 original titles.
