Hooq, Singtel’s video-streaming service, files for liquidation

Hooq, a video-streaming service backed by Singapore telco major Singtel, is filing for liquidation after failing to sufficiently grow and provide sustainable returns, Reuters reported.

Tech in Asia has reached out to Hooq for a statement.

Photo credit: Hooq

Hooq, which is part of Singtel’s digital life segment, was introduced in 2015 as a joint venture with Sony Pictures and Warner Bros, at a time when US-based Netflix was starting to expand across Asia. The service offered Hollywood movies and television shows as well as local programming, something that Netflix lacked at that time.

But Hooq struggled to make major gains as its US rival entered more markets in the region, not to mention regional player Iflix’s growing presence.

Iflix initially launched in Malaysia and the Philippines, after securing US$30 million in funding back in 2015. Now, its services are available in 13 countries, including Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, the Maldives, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Nepal, and Bangladesh.

It recently announced a partnership with TikTok, owned by Chinese tech giant Bytedance, which would see content from the short-video app becoming available on Iflix.

To further tailor their services according to the region’s needs, both Hooq and iFlix adopted freemium models. Iflix co-founder and CEO Mark Britt previously said adopting Netflix’s purely subscription-based model would not work in the long run in Asia.

In 2018, the platform announced that it would start offering its content for free, with its model largely supported by ads. The new tier was offered alongside its current subscription options. Hooq, on the other hand, took a different approach. It started offering free-to-air TV in the same year for all its subscribers, including those in the free tier.

According to Reuters, Singtel doesn’t expect Hooq’s liquidation to have any material impact on its own net tangible assets or earnings per share.