3 September 2014: Analysts might not be over the moon about the short/medium term profit prospects of OTT, but there's clearly no shortage of companies in Asia willing to give multi-screen options a go. Malena Amzah spoke to 19 online/OTT platforms in the region about what they have, what they would like to have, and the biggest things they think are standing in their way. Analysts might not be over the moon about the short/medium term profit prospects of OTT, but there’s no shortage of companies in Asia willing to give multi-screen options a good go. This includes established free- and pay-TV broadcasters, who are moving lock, stock and tech barrel into non traditional delivery, leveraging the rights they own in new spaces and creating – or hoping to – original content for online services. Channels and acquisitions execs are also pushing hard for as many rights as possible, hoping to drive online viewership, engagement and revenue. What are these and their stand-alone online platform rivals most concerned about? Interviews with 19 platforms* in Asia showed that piracy is the top concern along with access to and cost of rights, and censorship, which drives users away. Priorities include presenting a simple and easy-to-use entertainment service, available everywhere with broad content choices at the right price models and designs that serve multiple user groups’ needs. Here’s what else they said...TontonTonton is an over-the-top service offering catch-up and premium video content, including drama, entertainment talk shows, docudramas and movies. Content comes from free-TV broadcaster Media Prima’s national terrestrial networks – TV3, TV9, ntv7 and 8TV – as well as studios around the world. Tonton is operated by Media Prima Digital."The growth in mobile has been overwhelming in the past one year." Lam Swee Kim, Group General Manager, Media Prima DigitalLaunched in Tonton launched in August 2010. Why did you call it ‘Tonton’? “Tonton means ‘watch’ in the Malay language.” Revenue model Free video-on-demand, transactional video-on-demand (TVOD), advertising supported The price Transactional video-on-demand (premium) titles cost from RM8/US$2.50 each for a 48-hour window. Most of the shows are free, with some migrating to a premium tier after the initial free 30-day window. Subscribers Tonton’s 2014 target is four million registered users, and the platform is optimistic about reaching this goal. Users Urban market ages from 15-35 years old The offer Local content includes drama, reality, lifestyle, kids, news, movies and talk shows. Foreign content covers drama, movies and documentary Live streams Media Prima terrestrial TV channels TV3, ntv7, 8TV and TV9 Newest features... Tonton Original Series, Tonton Comedy (offers comedy programmes) and Tonton Music. The Tonton Original Series slate includes Stand Up, which premiered in May 2014, with new episodes every Wednesday and Friday. The eight-part 15-minute episode series features 14 stand up comedians, including Jonathan Atherton, Papi Zak, Andrew Netto and Joanne Kam. The series also includes eight one-minute “Wit-A-Minute clips. Media Prima Digital billed the show as “the first of its kind on an online platform”. How many hours of new content a month? 190 hours a week. 760 hours a monthThree most-watched shows so far Top dramas from TV3 Love You Mr. Arrogant, Ariana Rose and Teduhan Kasih Who’s driving the initiative Lam Swee Kim, group general manager, Media Prima DigitalGeo-blocked or not “Syndicated content will be geo-blocked for Malaysia according to the licence terms but selected local content is available for global access.” [Lam Swee Kim]Content rights Non-exclusive catch-up, live stream, library. Period: one to two yearsIs there anything that has surprised you about usage? “The growth in mo- bile has been overwhelming in the past one year.” [Lam Swee Kim] The biggest challenge so far Cost and revenue How are you using social media to expand your online presence? “Daily and campaign updates” [Lam Swee Kim]What are Tonton’s priorities for the next six months? The priority goes to Tonton music, a brand extension into the music industry. Media Prima Digital, in collaboration with Media Prima Radio Networks (MPRN), launched Tonton Music, a music portal on 26 January this year in conjunction with TV3’s music competition, Anugerah Juara Lagu (AJL28). The aim is to have one of the largest local music content libraries in the industry, with more than 700,000 songs, including International music, by the end of 2014. Tonton Music is also the first music portal in Malaysia to offer a free mobile streaming service and the first to have a fully integrated digital music service in the world.* All information and opinion was supplied by the platforms themselves and fact checked for accuracy as far as humanly possible. ContentAsia has not road-tested all the platforms and offers no opinion on how well any of them work or what the strengths and weaknesses are from a consumer perspective.Issue Three 2014