Netflix Gets To Meet A Familiar Malaysian Rival In MENA- Valutrics

Malaysian subscription-based video on demand (SVoD) service iflix has launched its service in eight territories across the MENA region.

Consumers in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Lebanon, Egypt, and Sudan, can now sign up for a 30-day free trial.

The move came just a month after iflix—which is owned by owned by Kuala Lumpur-based Iflix Sdn Bhd—entered Myanmar, its tenth market in Asia, enhancing its reach over the region with over 6 billion minutes streamed across ten countries since launching in Malaysia in mid-2015.

With its MENA launch, iflix has a total global headcount of 700 staff across 24 offices worldwide, including the new regional headquarters for MENA based in Dubai.

iflix subscription gives users access to its library of original productions, first-run exclusive shows, TV series, movies, children’s programs and regional Arabic and Asian content.

Users can get access to iflix on up to five devices at once, including phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, TVs and other connected devices.

They can also download TV shows and movies to any phone, tablet or mobile device to binge-watch offline, when not connected to the Internet.

Besides, they can also share the iflix subscription with family or friends and watch shows on two different devices at the same time.

MENA is one of the fastest growing and most exciting online markets in the world with data-savvy consumers who share a passion for entertainment, said Mark Britt, founder and CEO at iflix.

iflix will compete in MENA with Netflix, and icflix, a MENA-focused streaming and VoD platform, in addition to Starz Play, Telly and OSN Play.

In January 2016, Netflix made its SVOD digital offering available to 130 countries including those in the MENA region.

In addition to being largely available in English in the MENA and in most new countries, Netflix also added Arabic, Korean, and both simplified and traditional Chinese to the 17 languages it already supports.

Previously, Netflix could be viewed in some parts of the MENA, including the UAE, but only with a Virtual Private Network (VPN).

Netflix currently has over 70 million subscribers worldwide, and is expected to surpass the 100 million mark in 2018.

Icflix offers Hollywood, Bollywood and Arabic content, including original Egyptian productions.

Launched in 2013, it is available in Egypt, Morocco, Kuwait, the UAE, Tunisia, and Saudi Arabia, and now has 250,000 customers in the region.

In April 2014, Starz launched the Starz Play Arabia Over-the-Top (OTT) subscription service across 17 countries in the region.