Vivamax hits 11 million subscribers, sees overseas growth

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino streaming app Vivamax has surpassed 11 million subscribers three years since it was launched at the height of the pandemic in early 2021. It has also seen “surprising” subscription growth in overseas markets, particularly Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. 

In an interview with The STAR and another media outlet, Viva Communications, Inc. president and CEO Vincent del Rosario said they were surprised to know that in international territories, locals and not overseas Filipinos primarily accounted for subscribers of the Viva-owned streaming service.

“I think in Indonesia, there are a million subscribers. (These are) locals, not Pinoys,” he said.

According to Vincent, they learned about the platform’s “popularity” in the neighboring Southeast Asian nation from film distribution and producing partners. “They were telling us ang lakas ng inyong app dito. Sabi ko paano, we don’t naman promote. Hindi, pinag-uusapan sa X. At first, I thought X was a porn site but X, formerly Twitter, pala.”

They were directed to screengrabs of Vivamax content and teasers being shared by Bahasa-speaking users on X.

“So, now, we promote (Vivamax) on social media in Bahasa. We’ve been putting Bahasa subtitles in that territory and even in Malaysia kasi may mga marunong mag-Bahasa dun.”

Initially, when they rolled out Vivamax in other markets, the target audience was “our kababayan overseas,” said Vincent. “Pero nakita namin (in) Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and then now, even Germany and we saw India, nagka-spike. So na hit niya mainstream markets, locals, hindi lang mga OFWs.”

“Actually, in some territories, nakikita naman namin sino ang nag-mimyembro, ano ang mga nationality. Mas marami pa ang locals kay sa OFW kaya nakakagulat din,” he added. 

Apart from the subscription growth, Vincent said that Vivamax titles are now getting licensed for international distribution.

“What happened was, we attended film markets and our titles were getting licensed for payTV, for streaming in other countries. The titles we produced are now traveling beyond our borders. There’s acceptance for the content,” he said.

“Siguro naman kasi the content we produced is anchored on a good narrative. We assume maganda ang kwento. That’s why we worked with the likes of (National Artist) Ricky Lee, direk Mac (Alejandre), Joel Lamangan, and (Cannes-winning director) Brillante Mendoza, whom I think has seven or eight films with us.”

He continued, “Of course, all these young and exciting directors na gagawa sa amin. So… maganda yung foundation nung content kaya siguro nakakatayo siya on its own.”

Asked about the streamer’s “most viewed” content, Vincent said, “It varies. Malakas yung medyo dark, adult dramas (like) kaliwaan (cheating), meron konting suspense, danger.

“I think you go back to the time of Peque Gallaga’s ‘Scorpio Nights,’ there’s always that element. We’ve also noticed that humor or comedy does well, but not as much sa medyo drama (mixed with) suspense and thriller.”

As for the demographics, he said, “You’ll be surprised, 50-50, babae, lalake. The age bracket namin na malakas — bawal sa amin yung minor — is 21 to 35. Most of our subscribers are mobile. Bihira yung communal, yung sabay-sabay kayo, it’s more personal.”

Nevertheless, Vincent admitted that “adult content” has also been a driver of Vivamax subscription. “Of course, its theme, which is medyo adult, it’s an attraction,” he said.

He agreed that it’s a “hook” that would make people curious about the app. “But after a while, mauumay ka rin kung walang kwento, kung puro lang ganun, so we make sure maalagaan yung storytelling para tumagal siya,” he said.

In an interview last year, the streamer claimed that “sexy content” only accounted for 10 percent of its offerings, although this figure has yet to be updated, as of writing. Also in 2023, viewed as a move to further counter “perception” that it only catered to adult viewers, Viva introduced Viva Prime, a service within the Vivamax app for specially curated content for general audiences.

Vincent believes people are staying subscribed to the platform for reasons beyond “sexy” scenes. “I guess after a while, you can get your fix of risque content by going to the web and accessing it for free. No need to be a member of Vivamax kung yun lang ang hanap mo,” he pointed out. 

“I think it’s beyond ‘risque or sexy’content. It’s about the story. The artists who perform or act in it are also an attraction.”

Meanwhile, Vincent looked back on how the pandemic era fast-tracked the plans of one of the country’s biggest entertainment companies to venture into streaming.

Amidst global lockdowns in March 2020, Viva had 17 films due for theatrical runs. “At that time, there was fear that we would be stuck in our homes, pangmatagalan (that it was for the long run). But before that, we were already toying with the idea of coming up with a streaming platform,” Vincent shared. 

“We were benefiting from a healthy business pagdating sa cinema. So (we were thinking) ‘wag siempre baka makaapekto. Hindi pa malawak ang pag-unawa namin sa magiging epekto kung meron man. We relayed that and then the lockdown happened.”

He remembered being called to an urgent meeting with his father, Viva big boss Vic del Rosario. “Boss Vic (said) what will you do with the 17 films? It was around P300 million (in) investment, kasado na. ‘Ano nga ba ang gagawin natin? We have no choice, we have to wait until there’s normalcy and the lockdown will be lifted.’

“But at that time, we really didn’t know… No one could have predicted (when it would end) or when everything would return to normal, that we would still be able to speak to each other without masks. At that time (we were thinking) wala na, kung sino lang kasama natin sa bahay yun makikita natin.

“So pinatawag niya (Boss Vic) yung kausap namin na technical provider, the backend, and said, ‘Let’s pursue streaming.’ Ano ilalaman natin? ‘We have 17 movies.’ But 17 movies are not enough to run a streaming platform. (And he said) we have a thousand movies in our library, ilagay mo muna yan dun, and then start rolling out those 17 films. That’s where it all started.”

Vincent further recalled, “There were many movies in the platform na pang-cinema, pang-big screen. Okay naman, there was traction. But not the numbers we were expecting. ‘Di nila mako-compensate yung nawawala sa sinehan, yung dating revenue that we were expecting.”

Then, Viva put into the platform a South Korean title that they acquired, the 2010 Cannes-nominated erotic thriller “The Housemaid.”   

“Sabi namin, bakit may traction siya sa tao? So, inisip ni Boss Vic, baka yun ang hinahanap ng tao ngayon, yung parang medyo naiba from what they see on TV, cable, on Netflix or iWant? Paano mo tatalunin yung iWant? All the big dramas are already there, so testing tayo ng medyo adult.”

One of Vivamax’s early hits was Darryl Yap’s sexy-comedy “Paglaki Ko, Gusto Kong Maging #Pornstar,” featuring former sexy stars. It also launched new talents like AJ Raval, who’s on hiatus, and Angeli Khang, now in a primetime teleserye.

“Gumagawa kami ng big stars for Vivamax. Nagkaroon siya ng captive market,” he said. “But we kept the library there. Slowly, nakita namin na parang ang ganda ng performance nung medyo adult theme. Parallel to that, (we produced) yung mga mainstream na movies, yung mga originals (starring Viva stars like) Bela (Padilla), Xian Lim, we also did a Sharon Cuneta film.

“We always say, how can we compete against a global giant like Netflix or Amazon or a regional powerhouse like Viu if you offer the same content? Hindi ka naman gagawa ng pelikula na you spend more than what they spend or spend more marketing money. So, naghanap kami ng parang lugar na maging unique tayo. Hindi lang dito but also outside the Philippines.”

According to Vincent, Vivamax does “seven feature films a month, almost two a week or 80-plus a year.”

“That’s outside of the two (films) a month for the cinemas,” he added. “We’re solidly committed to the business. ‘Pang matagalan na yan (we’re in for the long haul). It’s already part of the ecosystem of Viva.” 

Despite major concerns like “rampant piracy,” they’re proud of what Vivamax has accomplished so far. 

“The streaming business is like a marathon, not a sprint. Investment mo ngayon, the payback will take a while. But we believe in the business, kumikita na siya. But tingin namin in the future, mas maganda pa.”