Western demand for Asian LGBTQ+/BL content is  soaring, says Taipei-based GagaOOLala, which reports that 65% of its 3m subs are now outside of Asia and is ramping up Originals to ride demand.
 

In GMMTV’s Moonlight Chicken, love and chaos plays out against the backdrop of a popular chicken and rice shop while new definitions of family and social norms are formed. TV Thunder’s Triage The Series is a fantasy medical drama exploring the meaning and interconnection of life, fate and love. BEC World’s The Root (รากแก้ว Rark Kaew), from Thai production house Change2561, explores the struggle of love battered by status and socio-economic inequality.

There are others. From the Philippines, ABS-CBN Entertainment’s GL (girls love) series, Sleep With Me, is about how interabled queer individuals navigate life in a society that makes them feel like outcasts. Out of Hong Kong, not traditionally a bastion of gay-anything, leading broadcaster Television Broadcasts Ltd’s (TVB), reality dating show, Boyscation, hosted by Vinci Wong, features 10 male contestants who hope to find true love. 

The range is broad and the topics are, clearly, diverse. All are united in leading the latest groundswell of LGBTQ+ stories in Asia. 

While Thailand remains in the lead in Asia in terms of output and mindspace, the divide is widening between TV production centres embracing diversity and those still hobbled by content codes that keep a tight lid on LGBTQ themes. 

The ayes are gaining traction around the world. 

Taipei-based LGBTQ+-focused streaming platform, GagaOOLala, says the demand for Asian LGBTQ+ and Boy Love (BL) content has soared in Western markets. 

About 65% of GagaOOLala’s approximately three million subscribers are now outside of Asia, GagaOOLala says, talking about the rising power of the “Western Pink Economy”. 

The platform cites U.S.-based corporate advisory and asset management company, LGBT Capital, which estimates the global aggregated spending power of the LGBT consumer base is worth US$3.9 trillion a year from a 15+ LGBT population of about 371 million people globally. LGBT Capital estimates that almost 75 million –about 20% – are in mainland China.  The company says Asia is fast developing, with estimated LGBT-GDP (nominal) now exceeding US$1.4 trillion. 

“The LGBT population is generally accepted to account for 5%-10% of the total population, and with recent developments in particular, the LGBT Community is securing increased positive awareness and equality – with visibly increased LGBT consumer segment momentum and recognition as a result,” LGBT Capital says. 

Global growth bodes well for GagaOOLala, which is part of a broader movement supporting LGBTQ issues and rights. 

Launched in 2017 followed in 2020 with a global roll out, GagaOOLala says 36% of its subscribers are from the U.S., and nearly 20% are in Europe.

The rest are from other parts of the Americas, Australia and New Zealand.  

GagaOOLala founder and CEO, Jay Lin, couldn’t be happier.

“Our platform serves as a conduit for cross-cultural understanding and acceptance, and we are humbled to play a pivotal role in fostering inclusivity and diversity,” he says. 

Earlier this year, GagaOOLala parent, Portico Media, launched artists agency Glocal Talents to produce local content targetting global audiences. The plan is to expand the ecosystem for mainstream LGBTQ+ entertainment, and to enlarge the share of content made in Asia. 

Although tiny compared to global streaming giants, Lin says GagaOOLala’s niche is strong. LGBT-focused platforms in  Europe and the U.S., are almost exclusively Western,” he points out. “There are few Asian titles, and if they appear, they are more Asian American or are from a Western or U.S. perspective.” 

GagaOOLala originals are making their way onto other platforms, including, most recently, SBS in Australia. 

“A greater focus on web-series and dramas rather than high volume soaps has helped broaden interest in Asian content and make it more accessible to new audiences,” SBS programmers say.  

SBS On Demand has acquired two GagaOOLala originals: season one of Fragrance of the First Flower, released in March 2023, and Taiwan Equals Love, a one-off documentary about Taiwan’s LGBTQI+ landscape. Taiwan Equals Love releases in Australia in 2024. 

“Fragrance of the First Flower was a wonderful representation of a queer romance that spoke to the heart of our purpose as a network – to platform both local and global stories that resonate with Australians of all backgrounds and diversities,” say SBS On Demand & World Movies’ Alex Walkden and Haidee Ireland.  

Greater international traction has encouraged GagaOOLala to boost production. Season two of lesbian IP, Fragrance of the First Flower, has started filming and is set to premiere globally in 2024. 

Dating reality show, Boys Like Boys, debuts globally in October 2023. The series features eight men chosen from an open call in Oct/Nov last year. GagaOOLala says almost 1,000 applicants from 18 countries responded. Musical BL series, First Note of Love, begins filming in October 2023, with a target 2024 release. The series is a collaboration with Thai partners and Warner Music Taiwan.

These build on GagaOOLala’s 60 originals, which stream with more than 1,600 titles acquired from around the world, from coming-of-age story Requiem, set in the 1600s against the backdrop of the witch trials, and Mediterranean short A King, Gazing at the Sea to K-queer film, Fifth Season and Chinese/Spanish collaboration Sunken Plum, about a transgender Chinese woman who returns to her village after her mother dies.

Published in ContentAsia's September 2023 magazine