Vivamax hits 600K subscribers in record time, unveils more plans

CEBU, Philippines —  Constraints can breed inventiveness and with the entertainment industry just among the many convulsed by the pandemic, one success story has emerged: Viva Inc.’s six-month-old streaming app – despite the presence of other much-established platforms – has reached milestones that not even its “on survival mode” executives had anticipated.

Launched just last January 29,Vivamax had been already in the planning stages pre-pandemic, as it was among the dreams of Viva honcho Vic del Rosario to offer direct-to-consumer entertainment.

“Of course many global platforms are already present like Netflix, Viu, HBO, plus local independent platforms. But Boss Vic was not deterred to pursue his dream,” said Boss Vic’s son, President and CEO OF Viva Incorporated Vincent del Rosario, during a recent Zoom conference.

Six months in, the younger del Rosario proudly shared to the media that Vivamax has already gained  600,000 subscribers, and is the number one entertainment app on Google Play, outdoing other longer-staying and international streaming brands.

Added del Rosario, “The past six months have been very exciting for us…we ourselves were surprised with the milestones that the platform has achieved.”

Vivamax Chief Operating Officer Ronan de Guzman said the success of Vivamax was achieved in record-breaking time. The technology was first run out of three countries in August 2020, testing was being done by end of November, and they were learning as they go before trials and the launch by January 2021.

“Vivamax broke the records in three months, and in six months, we are here,” de Guzman said. “It is out of the love for the content and the passion of the people behind Viva. Believe it or not, we don’t have boosted posts. Everything is organic.”

Starting with over 500 titles, with a mix of Filipino content, augmented with Tagalized Hollywood and Asian content (including their backbone: the biggest offering of Korean blockbuster films), Vivamax has 500 more Korean titles in its library – the biggest aggregated content in terms of Korean films – that they plan to slowly roll out.

Del Rosario noted how there were previous platforms that disappeared or didn’t work because they stopped introducing new titles, or most of their content were recycled titles that were also available in other platforms. But in Vivamax, this is their commitment: 15 new additions a week.

“That’s 750 titles a year,” he promised. “We will not waver. In fact, that’s just a minimum number. There should be more by early next year.”

Viva shared how they’ve observed viewing preferences opening up, as they notice new subscribers seeking out past titles.

“Nakakatuwa because our mindset when we launched the platform was yung mga bago ang gagalaw. Gumagalaw naman siya as expected, but we see that the library is moving. Minsan nagugulat ka na eto pala papanoorin kasi matagal ng time ang nakalipas. We also saw that there’s a huge interest on new Korean titles,” del Rosario said.

“In terms of live events, since we closed the window for pay-for-view, we saw that ‘Tala’ worked very well. I guess the audience missed Sarah [Geronimo] dahil matagal din siya hindi nag TV. That was a good week for us when we launched ‘Tala.’”

Del Rosario also cited their affordable pricing (at PHP149 per month) that includes TV casting on Smart TV via Chromecast or Apple AirPlay. Access has likewise been made easier via deals with the biggest retailers, distributors and payment gateways.

Vivamax too, is slowly but surely, going global. “We’re now in 50 countries, we’re covered in Europe. Pretty soon other big territories where Filipinos are, we’ll be there. The rest of Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and North America will be rolled out soon.”

Since its launch, Vivamax has featured originally produced series, movies, documentaries, and concerts that star some of the industry’s biggest names namely: Sarah Geronimo (Tala), Sharon Cuneta (Revirginized), Vice Ganda (Gandemic), Xian Lim (Parang Kayo Pero Hindi), Andew E., Dennis Padilla, Janno Gibbs (Pakboys), Rosanna Roces, Ara Mina, Maui Taylor, Alma Moreno (Pornstar), Lovi Poe (The Other Wife), and Eddie Garcia (Manoy).

Without a broadcast network, the platform was also one way for the company to launch movie stars out of Kim Molina, Jerald Napoles, Sunshine Guimary, Kylie Verzosa, AJ Raval, Rhen Escaño, just to name a few.

Their head of production, June Rufino, has a mandate of doing no less than five to six movies a month with some of the most bankable directors, creative stalwarts and prolific showrunners in the industry such as Erik Matti, Jason Paul Laxamana, Paul Soriano, Irene Villamor, Mikhail and Jon Red, Yam Laranas, Pedring Lopez, Darryl Yap, RC delos Reyes, Lawrence Fajardo, Joel Lamangan, Roman Perez, GB Sampedro, Al Tantay, Prime Curz, Dan Villegas and Antoinette Jadaone, Ricky Lee, Paul Basinillo, Paolo Valenciano and many others.

Also in place are several production and licensing deals with other top studios – Star Cinema, Regal, IdeaFirst, Project 8, Reality, Black Cap Pictures, BlackOps Asia, TBA, Cignal Entertainment, Brillante Mendoza’s Centerstage Productions, and The Probe Team to deliver diversified shows.

“I’m proud to say that we are still the busiest studio in the country. We have deals with top directors and production houses. We get content from different sources so walang umay factor. In a way, we’re agnostic. The idea is to work with all the best creators,” del Rosario continued.

Currently in various stages of production are films and series that will star Anne Curtis, Sarah Geronimo, Aga Muhlach, Bela Padilla, Cristine Reyes, Empoy, Alessandra de Rossi, Julia Barretto, Toni Gonzaga, Alex Gonzaga, Matteo Guidicelli, John Arcilla, JC Santos, Xian Lim, Andew E, Diego Loyzaga, Barbie Imperial, Carlo Aquino, JM de Guzman, Sue Ramirez, McCoy de Leon and Elisse Joson, and many more.

“In 2019, we committed to do 35-40 movies. There was no Vivamax in the picture yet. Na-fast-track when the pandemic came. The dilemma was how to fulfill that promise with all the protocols, and the fear of the actors and directors to shoot,” said del Rosario.

“At first the pace was slow, we were handicapped by these things. Eventually when Tita June hit her stride, we saw that within a 12-month period, we will finish 50 movies. Ten more than what we promised. Sa tuwa ni Boss Vic with what happened in the past six months, sabi niya, the original budget, pag kulang malaman ko lang, kasi hindi tayo pwede masira sa subscribers. We are here for the long run. It’s an expensive exercise, but we feel the payback, not only in terms of revenue,  but in getting thank yous from Filipinos, especially those abroad is enough para si Boss Vic matuwa sa na-accomplish ng Vivamax.”

Viva is also looking to the regions to boost their reach and in search of more talent.

“We are not forgetting our countrymen in Visayas and Mindanao. In fact soon an announcement will be made. We have a very big partner that can deliver Vivamax to Vismin in a very easy manner,” said de Guzman.

Del Rosario in turn revealed that Viva’s Cebu branch has marching orders to look for new talents (singers, comedians, actors, influencers) and that a project with a director and actors from Cebu will soon begin production.

Yet despite all the excitement and possibilities that streaming has unlocked for Viva, del Rosario said they still await the day that cinemas will open its doors anew. Cinema, after all, has been Viva’s lifeblood for the past 38 years.

“We believe in the movie ecosystem. A theatrical release is still important,” he said. “We maintain our partnership with cinema chains. When cinemas open, we can use that as a first window prior to streaming.”

“We have a dozen finished movies na hindi namin mailabas dahil naghihintay ng cinema release.

There are two with the Gonzaga sisters, ‘A Hard Day’ of Dingdong Dantes, and more stored in post-production houses. The budgets for these necessitate a theatrical release. And some of those movies, we have producing partners that are also expecting a cinema release, so we cannot arbitrarily release these on Vivamax. Hopefully all of these can end up on the streaming platform.”

Here’s Vivamax’s movie slate for the bottom half of 2021:

-Beks Battalion, Marco Gallo, and Aubrey Caraan in “Ang Manananggal na Nahahati ang Puso”

-Lassy Marquez, Kit Thompson and Ariella Arida in “Sarap Mong Patayin”

-Baron Geisler, Mark Anthony Fernandez, Jeric Raval and Joel Torre in “Barumbadings”

-Yassi Pressman, JC Santos, Ariella Arida and Marco Gumabao in the Pinoy adaptation of Taiwanese blockbuster “More Than Blue”

-Barbie Imperial and Diego Loyzaga in “Patungong Tayo”

-Kim Molina and JM de Guzman in “Adik Sa’Yo”

-Joem Bascon, Kylie Verzosa, Cindy Miranda and Marco Gumabao in “My Husband, My Lover”

-Mark Anthony Fernandez and Claudine Barretto in “Deception”

-Vivamax Original Documentary, “Divorce: As Long as We Both Shall Leave”

-Sharon Cuneta in “Ang Pamilyang Hindi Lumuluha”

-Janno Gibbs in “Mang Jose”

-Candy Pangilinan, Jerald Napoles and Kim Molina in “Sa Haba ng Gabi”

-Angeli Khang, Jay Manalo and Sean de Guzman in “Mahjong Nights”

-Jao Mapa and Rhen Escano in “Paraluman”

-John Arcilla, Baron Geisler, Nathalie Hart and Cindy Miranda in “Reroute”

-Sunshine Guimary, Mark Anthony Fernandez, Rafa Siguion-Reyna, Kean Cipriano, Diego Loyzaga and Cindy Miranda in “House Tour”