Enough Globally, More Locally

Though the development of streaming content with a local flavor has thus far lagged behind the rollout of the broadband services designed to carry it, a new crop of entertainment content providers has emerged on the scene in Singapore. In fact, some of these new players are hoping to ride the coat tails of local broadband service providers to success.

One such start-up, alternateTV.com, launched in early 2000, produces Internet-only original content with a strong Asian focus. The production company focuses primarily on theatre and the arts. "We record stage productions, either in totality or deconstructed, and feature them on our site," says Millie Phua, chief executive officer of alternateTV. The content is available in both broadband and narrowband versions. Phua says revenue is generated through partnerships with broadband service providers who pay alternateTV.com -- through licensing or syndication -- for its original content.

Another up-and-coming Singapore-based content provider, Sharkstream.com, is following a similar business model. Founded in May 2000, the company hopes to work with broadband service providers to syndicate its original programming. Owned by Singapore-based UTV Entertainment, Sharkstream is a streaming media and video-on-demand portal that features a wide variety of content -- everything from full-length Hindi sitcoms from India to video snippets of extreme sports. The company has lofty goals, with UTV projecting it will "achieve a critical mass of 250,000 broadband users within 12 to 18 months, enabling it to develop value-added services and migrate from a free, to a subscription-based service."

To get there, Sudhanshu Sarronwala, director of Sharkstream, hopes to develop even more diversified content. "We'll be launching a business and financial channel in the first quarter of 2001, and maybe an education channel later in the year," says Sarronwala.

Looking to the future, Sarronwala also sees strong potential in micro-casting. "For example, [we could] provide on-demand sumo wrestling video for Japanese expatriates. The audience might not be huge, but it will still attract thousands of users," he says. "Sharkstream is now getting its U.S. package ready, and we're including content aimed at the Chinese and Indian expatriate communities." Such content, Sarronwala says, will be streamed on a pay-per-view basis.

In addition to Sharkstream and alternateTV, more big-name entertainment content producers—such as Live-e, MTV Asia, and vivamusic.com—have joined the Singapore One broadband network. Clearly, smaller companies may have trouble facing this competition. Four Media's Wigglesworth contends that veteran broadcasting companies may have a better chance at surviving than the upstarts. "People like to say that streaming media over the Internet is a totally new business. It's not true," he says. "There are still a lot of basic business practices that apply, whether you're streaming over the Internet or whether you're using traditional satellite broadcasting."

Phua of alternateTV.com is more hopeful of the chances for her company. "We're all trying to figure out what business model works best, at the moment," she says. "You have to be able to stick it out until models are found. We expect there to be enough room for a few significant players."

Back to story