The number of video subscriptions in Taiwan increased by 315,000 to 5.8 million in the July-September quarter, according to a new research report. Netflix and Disney+ were responsible for most of the growth.
The report, Online Video in Taiwan, by consultancy Media Partners Asia and its sister company AMPD Research, found that premium VOD engagement and subscriptions were up 6% quarter-on-quarter. Premium VOD accounted for 20% of total time spent on online video by Taiwanese consumers.
YouTube remains the leader with 67% of total online video viewership, although its share dropped three percentage points as TikTok (12% of viewership) gained traction in the market. In terms of engagement (or time spent), LineTV leads the premium VOD category in Taiwan with an 18% share, ahead of Netflix (15%) and Disney+ (9%). And each grew by 2-4 percentage points quarter-on-quarter.
Netflix has 21% of paid subscriptions and Disney 17%, for a combined 38% of total subscriptions. The two accounted for 80% of new subscriptions in the quarter, the report said. It called them “clear leaders in an otherwise fragmented SVOD landscape where more than a dozen other platforms compete with less than 10% subscriber market share”.
MyVideo had a 9% share of SVOD subscriptions, FriDay 9%, Hami Video 7% and iQiyi Taiwan 6%. The report also included companies such as KKTV, LiTV, Catchplay+, Gt TV, WeTV and Yahoo TV.
“Taiwan’s strong quarter was led by Disney+’s strong marketing efforts and hit Korean superhero drama ‘Moving’, as well as organic subscriber growth from Netflix’s international offering and its efforts to reduce account sharing. The two platforms have been key contributors to Taiwan’s steady annual subscriber growth of around one million, which has led to strong year-on-year revenue growth of 25% in September 2023. Overall, Asian content categories, particularly Chinese and Korean dramas, dominate demand, capturing 85% of premium VOD viewers in Q3 2023.”
