By realmnova 
Overseas media giant Netflix is facing enormous challenges from the Chinese market, and domestic media giants are rapidly catching up with their competitors in a thriving South-East Asian market. According to IJA, the media platforms such as Achi and Tunnel are moving into the South-East Asian market to shift their focus towards indigenous content for local audiences.
The Achilles art known as the Chinese version of Netflix has been active in South-East Asia since 2019, with strong influence in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. Through the provision of free advertising to pay models and cost-effective subscriptions, the achilling has attracted 36 million paying users in the region. In Thailand, the Achille Gallery has over 9,000 works, of which more than 60 per cent are made in China.
Achilles offers a big volume of content from Chinese costumes to Hollywood. It is reported that the Achilles art is investing heavily in indigenous content, with a planned investment of up to US$ 1.54 million for each work, and that four to six original Thai works are launched each year, with special focus on hot-spots such as homosexuality. In Indonesia and Malaysia, Achilles is working with local studios and operators (e.g. Telkomsel) to produce original content for over 170 million users. The Achilles Arts and Tenth and the Ali Baba Group compete for China’s largest video-flowing platform, with an estimated 400 million active users per month.
The launch of the WeTV service in South-East Asia in 2019 also gave priority to the development of original content. Since 2024, the company has been producing local iconic programmes, which have succeeded in creating groups such as the Seven Men ‘ s Group, NexT1de. Earlier this year, Achilles also announced plans to open the first theme park in Yangzhou during the year based on its role in home-made theatres.
Although American-flowing media giants such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video started farming in the South-East Asian market as early as 2016 and dominate part of the market (almost 60 per cent in Singapore), domestic firms are rapidly narrowing the gap. In Thailand, domestic-flow media account for about 40 per cent of the market share, which exceeds the share of United States service providers by about 30 per cent. This is due in part to the popularity of the large Chinese population in South-East Asia, as well as the content of national production.
Strong competition in domestic markets was also one of the factors driving the expansion. As domestic income and profits decline, the young population and the growing income of the population in South-East Asia offer great opportunities for growth. By 2030, the regional media market is expected to be at $6.8 billion, an increase of 49 per cent from 2024.
