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Tencent Buys Streaming Service Iflix To Expand Into Southeast Asia

It seems that aside from streaming giants in the West such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+, companies in the East are also doing their part to have their streaming services reach more viewers. 

To help extend the reach of its own streaming platform WeTV into the Southeast Asian region, Chinese entertainment company Tencent announced that it has bought over the streaming service Iflix which mainly serves audiences living in Southeast Asia.

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A spokesperson for Tencent stated in a statement (via BNN Bloomberg), “This is in line with our strategy to expand our international streaming platform, WeTV, across Southeast Asia and provide users with international, local and original high-quality content in a wide range of genres and languages.”

According to Tech In Asia, Tencent’s acquisition of Iflix includes the latter’s content, technology, and resources. Iflix’s local network across emerging markets in the region will also help to give WeTV’s users a wider range of content. 

“Through the purchase, WeTV will further extend our presence in the video-streaming industry across Southeast Asia to reach a broader audience base within the region and to better serve our users with a better viewing experience,” Tencent shared with Tech in Asia in an emailed statement.

For now, Tencent states that most of Iflix’s current staff, including its CEO Marc Barnett, will retain their roles to help ensure a “smooth integration with our existing business and also talent retention.”

Iflix first released in 2014 and serves users in the Southeast Asian region, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Brunei, the Maldives, Pakistan, Myanmar, Cambodia, Nepal, and Bangladesh. It currently has upwards of 25 million users on its streaming platform.