Can GoPlay be a game-changer for Gojek?

Earlier this month, Gojek officially expanded into the content business with the launch of its streaming service, GoPlay. It enters a space that’s inhabited by video-on-demand platforms like Netflix, Iflix, and Hooq in Southeast Asia.

This isn’t a novel strategy for tech giants. In the US, Amazon was the first to offer content streaming via its Prime Video service. In 2014, Alibaba set up Alibaba Pictures, through which it produced the latest Mission: Impossible movie, and Apple has also recently followed suit.

Closer to home, Gojek rival Grab recently tied up with Hooq, enabling customers to stream the latter’s content on the Grab app. Bukalapak, the Indonesian ecommerce unicorn, was also an investor in the country’s first blockbuster superhero movie, which was produced by an affiliate of its parent firm Emtek Group.

With GoPlay, Gojek is taking a more proactive approach to content strategy and acquisition by working directly with production houses. It has the entire Gojek ecosystem at its disposal for big data, marketing, payments, and distribution, and has hired Netflix and Amazon Studios alumni to lead the charge.

This may be the kind of big-picture thinking that could prove to be a game-changer in the long run, but the strategy still carries some risks. Content is an expensive business, and for many players, profitability is not yet on the horizon. Plus, Gojek is putting aside a budget to acquire shows while being outperformed by Grab in their latest fundraising rounds.

Building the Indonesian film industry

Asked about Gojek’s goal behind launching the streaming service, Edy Sulistyo – the CEO of Gojek’s entertainment division, which includes GoPlay and GoGames – says that it is driven by a mission to build Indonesia’s film industry.

“We saw that many content creators in Indonesia had the same problem with filmmaking: limited screen time,” he notes. “But at Gojek, we can do more than just extend content life span. How do we harness our powers in distribution to optimize the film industry?”

The “powers in distribution” lie in the Gojek app, which Sulistyo claims has been downloaded 125 million times in Indonesia alone (GoPlay is a separate app, though it is featured on the main Gojek app). To put that in perspective, Indonesian films were viewed by 48 million people collectively in 2018, for a per-film average of 287,000.

GoPlay also benefits from the Gojek ecosystem in terms of payments, which will be processed by GoPay – crucial for a country with low credit card penetration – as well as current promotional tie-ins with GoFood.

On the other hand, Grab’s partnership with Hooq lets users access the streaming service’s free content on the Grab app – without the need for a separate Hooq subscription – and a three-month free trial to view all of its premium content.

According to Hooq CEO Peter Bithos, Grab’s strength in distribution was the impetus behind the tie up. “[This partnership with Grab] allows us to reach subscribers at a scale that would be difficult for us to do otherwise,” he says.

Content can be expensive

Room to grow