Gojek’s GoPlay is more like Spotify and Amazon Prime Video – not Netflix

It wasn’t too long ago when Indonesia had plenty of over-the-top (OTT) video providers. International streamers such as Netflix, Iflix, Hooq, and Viu as well as local players like Genflix and Vidio, which are subsidiaries of media conglomerates Mega Media and Emtek, respectively, crowded the scene.

But as time went on, some of them have struggled to stay in business. Singapore-based Hooq, backed by major telecommunications firm Singtel, recently filed for liquidation, while Catcha Group’s Iflix has let go of staff and saw its co-founders depart as it faced debt problems.

Amid this uncertainty, GoPlay, the video-streaming arm of homegrown unicorn Gojek, has scored a win. It has secured its first external investment in a round led by ZWC Partners and Golden Gate Ventures, with Openspace Ventures, Ideosource Entertainment, and Redbadge Pacific participating. An investor tells Tech in Asia that the funding is “in the ballpark of US$15 million.”

Image credit: GoPlay

Launched in September 2019, GoPlay believes its trump card is in being laser-focused on working with the Indonesian film industry to create content that locals want. And while people often liken it to Netflix, that isn’t the best comparison, people close to the company tell Tech in Asia.

Instead of forking out huge sums of money upfront for content, which is how the entertainment industry and players like Netflix largely works, GoPlay is opting for an approach that it believes is more financially sustainable.

It’s using “a revenue-sharing model with content creators and production houses, for both GoPlay original movies and other local content, which helps filmmakers increase quality and benefits everyone in the ecosystem,” explains Edy Sulistyo, the company’s chief executive.

Hian Goh, co-founder and general partner at Openspace Ventures, echoes this view. Other players failed because they didn’t focus on providing quality original content for the Indonesian audience, says the investor, who built and eventually sold the Asian Food Channel in 2013.

Investors see parallels between China and Indonesia. “When iQiyi started in China [in 2010], the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and internet penetration were similar to Indonesia’s in 2019,” says Patrick Cheung, founder and managing partner of ZWC Partners.

Sources: World Bank, PricewaterhouseCoopers, ZWC Partners’ research

* Forecasted based on ratio between China’s GDP per capita and entertainment and media spend per capita in 2019.

GoPlay was born from Gojek’s ambition to build a super app. Today, GoPlay users can pay the subscription fee via GoPay or buy a bundle package with discounts for other Gojek’s services, like GoFood and GoSend.

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