An independent mobile video service- Vuclip, has formally launched in the Philippines with relationships with the three largest national carriers, Globe Telecom, Sun Cellular and Smart Communications through its local partner ThumbMOB Philippines, Inc. With this expansion, Vuclip now brings mobile entertainment, movies and news video to over 100 million mobile data plan users in Southeast Asia.
Filipinos are the top Internet video viewers in the world per capita and mobile usage is close to universal at 98.8 percent. With deals closed between Vuclip and all the top carriers, Filipino consumers will be empowered to choose their preferred provider based on factors other than video availability, such as price and quality of service.
"Globe is proud to be the first to introduce the Vuclip service in the Philippines," said Glenn Estrella, Head of Digital Media for Globe Telecom's Consumer Business Group. "With our flexible and competitive data packages for Vuclip, we are confident that our subscribers will enjoy discovering a new world of videos on their mobile phones."
"We have already grown a highly active viewership in India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Launching in the Philippines is a natural extension for us, particularly given the Filipino's appetite for viewing video on mobile phones," said Nickhil Jakatdar, Co-founder and CEO of Vuclip. "We are working with carriers to reduce the data plan fees for consumers so that more of them can watch videos whenever they want. With this approach, we expect to triple our business in Southeast Asia over the next year."
"Even prior to this launch, we had over 350,000 monthly users of Vuclip in the Philippines and we are really excited to accelerate the momentum even further," said Ashwin Puri, Vice President Business Development and Managing Director, Southeast Asia, of Vuclip. "With this launch across all carriers, we hope to make video a mainstream mobile product with Filipinos. Next, we are looking to partner with local content providers and advertisers to include them as part of this ecosystem."
In addition to representing Vuclip with the carriers, ThumbMOB produces and manages local content for Vuclip, and works with advertisers to create alternative, brand-sponsored digital video channels for the Philippines. "ThumbMOB is excited to be at the forefront of an exciting new medium -- mobile video -- on Filipinos' most personal device, their mobile phones," added Patricia Mulles, Founder and CEO of ThumbMOB.
Every day Vuclip delivers more than 12 million videos to viewers in 200+ countries, with more than 360 million videos viewed globally every month. In Southeast Asia specifically in June, Vuclip experienced 25.3 million video views. The top searches included: Luna Maya, Agnes Monica, and Naruto. By way of contrast, the top three searches in the U.S. for the same timeframe included: Justin Bieber, Britney Spears and the Japan earthquake.
Vuclip has become the largest independent mobile video service by focusing on a browser-based solution that leverages HTML5 technology and by securing exclusive local content in major international markets. Distribution partners include Bharti Airtel, DoCoMo and Vodafone (India), Maxis (Malaysia), Telkomsel, XL and Hutch (Indonesia). Vuclip's content relationships with premium content providers include The Associated Press (AP), Billboard, Falcon Interactive, and Times of India
