VietNamNet Bridge - Hundreds of foreign television channels from Japan, South Korea, China, India, Russia and Thailand are being provided to Vietnamese watchers via OTT (over the top) apps. Service providers are able to collect VND5.8-7 million from subscribers for one-year use.

Hoang Thinh TV Service Center (www.truyenhinhsohd3d.com) is one of the best-known service providers. It provides a service of installing TV channels for people living in Vietnam and to foreign restaurants, hotels and representative agencies in Vietnam.

Hoang Thinh’s official website says the company provides 28 TV channels in Japanese, more than 250 Chinese TV channels, more than 100 Indian, 90 Russian and 36 South Korean. The services are being provided on OTT basis.

Hundreds of foreign television channels from Japan, South Korea, China, India, Russia and Thailand are being provided to Vietnamese watchers via OTT (over the top) apps.

When reporters called Hoang Thinh on the hotline phone number given on the website and registered South Korean TV channels, an officer named Hung said Hoang Thinh will lend Box to users, free of charge, and users only need to have a 3MB internet transmission line. 

Hung said when Hoang Thinh and users sign contract, they will have to pay subscription fee for at least six months. A subscriber just needs to make registration via phone, Hoang Thinh’s officers will come to install Box and set up TV channels.

Users can extend their use when the subscription duration expires. In case they decide to stop using the service, the Box will be taken back by Hoang Thinh.

Also according to Hung, there are two service packages for South Korean TV. The first one, with which users can use 15 channels, has a service fee of VND5.8 million a year, while the second one, with 36 channels, has a service fee of VND7 million. 

The subscription fees are much higher than subscription fees set by domestic pay-TV service providers (the highest level is VND125,000 a month).

“All the TV channels are in Korean. There will be some English channels for the 36-channel package,” Hung explained. “Our server is located in Hanoi which allows very high speed of download. Therefore, a 2.5 MB Internet line would be enough.”

Vu Gia Phat (www.vugiaphat.com) is another well-known foreign TV service provider in Vietnam and the services it provides are similar to that of Hoang Thinh.

Both Hoang Thinh and Vu Gia Phat are headquartered in HCMC.

Meanwhile, other service providers are not runnng ad campaigns like Hoang Thinh and Vu Gia Phat, but are leaving contact phone numbers on Google, namely Cham TV, Kool TV and Hanaro. The subscription fees set by the service providers are between $25 and $30 a month.

Under Decree 06/2016, pay-TV services via internet must be licensed and follow  current regulations on editing, translation and content management. 

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