Tencent launches video streaming service in Thailand,  SE Asia expansion

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd launched its first foreign places video streaming service in Thailand on Friday, as it ramps up its presence outside China.
Tencent is diversifying from its core Chinese gaming business, which has been beset by regulatory problems, pushing revenue boom to its slowest-ever in the first quarter.

Tencent’s present Thai consumer base made the country a excellent first goal for its push into Southeast Asia, said Jeff Han, Senior Vice President of Tencent Penguin Pictures, which produces unique content for the streaming business.

“This is the market we need to first enter to try to see whether an overseas launch could be a success for us, so we can continue the challenge,” Han told reporters in a group interview in Bangkok.

“We have our precedence markets… the Chinese-speaking markets, which will be more receptive to our offerings,” he said.

In Thailand, Tencent Video will be called WeTV and feature original Chinese content from Tencent Penguin Pictures with Thai dubbing, and content created with local partners, Han said.

He declined to comment how a good deal the employer was investing overseas.

WeTV adds to Tencent’s tune streaming service JOOX and the mobile version of PUBG video games in Thailand.

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Tencent’s video streaming subscriptions multiplied 43% in the first quarter of 2019 on an annual basis, contributing to a growth in digital content revenue, according to its state-of-the-art results.

Tencent Video in China claims over 89 million subscribers and greater than 200 million each day active users.