The application market to watch OTT (over the top) online entertainment content in Viet Nam is fertile but contains many challenges for most service providers. To win the market's top position, OTT applications need breakthrough strategies from technology, content to payment solutions.

A series of recent reports show cable TV and digital satellite TV services' market share is gradually shrinking, giving way to the rapid development of OTT applications.

Full of potential, very challenging

Ahead of that trend, many private and State-owned companies have quickly launched applications to gain market share in this fertile but primitive market.

The first group is some television stations turning to OTT applications. The second group of OTT applications is telecom units that specialise in providing content and producing programmes themselves. The third group is pure content producers. There are also platform builders that specialise in providing IPTV services. Most notably is the fierce competition from foreign services such as Netflix and YouTube.

Despite being a fertile market, the OTT online entertainment content viewing service is not a playground for immature players. Many challenges are facing OTT applications. The biggest and most obvious challenge is the problem of infrastructure and transmission techniques. Content streamed online is very large, while the internet speed in Viet Nam is not high, especially using 3G/4G on mobile devices.  

In terms of content, it requires service providers to always provide engaging content. The taste of users is ever-changing, requiring service providers to always follow the production of new entertainment programmes. The copyright cost to publish the content is on the rise, resulting in service providers suffering constant losses in the early stage when they have not attracted a large enough number of users.

Attracting users is hard, retaining users is even more complicated, as more and more people are just using the service to follow a particular programme, then leave when that programme ends. Failure to consistently produce highly engaging content causes units to lose users before they can profit from them.

Rising to the top thanks to content technology

Though it launched to the public from May 7, 2020, it took nearly four years for VieON to prepare and research many modern technologies from domestic and international partners. VieON is an OTT application specialised in providing paid entertainment content on multimedia, including smart TV, smartphone, apps, and web, where users can view entertainment content anytime, anywhere.

On the first day of launch, the VieON application rose to the AppStore and Google Play top charts. In the middle of June, VieON had rapid growth. In the past two months, the average growth rate reached nearly 500% per cent

Huynh Long Thuy, director of VieON, said: "The company has strongly invested in VieON by comprehensive co-operation with global consulting firm BCG Digital Ventures of America to develop VieON with international standards and serve the best entertainment needs for users."

VieON uses personalisation technology and technology recommendations content to users from a Gravity R&D partner. It is machine learning and uses artificial intelligence (AI) to provide a distinctive user experience. Based on the user's video viewing habits, this system can analyse and recognise the user's preferences, thereby proposing programmes close to these interests right from the home screen.

When the user is watching a programme, the system will analyse and suggest related programmes in real-time, with obvious correlation, making it possible for users to explore more exciting programmes without having to know about them beforehand.

VieON is also the first OTT in Viet Nam to use Segment's CDP (Customer Database Platform) system and amplitude data analysis system and integrate the DMP system (Data Management Platform) to help better understand users' needs, contributing to improving user satisfaction and loyalty.

VieON also anticipates the trend of big screens, focusing on investing in a massive store of 4K quality entertainment content for users to enjoy. The VieON application brings hundreds of thousands of hours of movies from Viet Nam, Hollywood, South KoreaChina, and hundreds of domestic and international TV channels with 100 per cent copyright. At the same time, VieON implements the International Standard Content Copyright Protection (DRM) system of Castlabs. This system allows VieON to remove pirated content, helping users view the original content with reliability .

Recently, VieON has joined hands with leading corporations such as Samsung TV and Canal Plus (K+) to increase the convenience and diversify of its entertainment content for users.

Regarding an issue that was previously considered a barrier, the payment solution, now VieON had found a way to create convenience for users. VieON has a plan to support all popular payment methods currently on the App Store and Play Store, especially the choice of payment method via MoMo e-wallet.

Huynh Long Thuy evaluated MoMo as a partner of many central banks in the country, spanning all fields: electricity, telecommunications, mobile, television, personal finance, banking, aviation, entertainment and games.

"So VieON believes co=operation with MoMo e-wallet will bring maximum convenience to customers when paying for VieON's services," Thuy emphasised.

Through MoMo, users can pay for VieON (an attractive and competitive fee) in many different forms, from domestic ATM cards, international bank cards, promotional codes and gift cards. Users can pay on any device, from mobile phones, smart TV, to the web browser on the computer. All are smooth and fast, like the way users watch entertainment content on VieON.