VietNamNet Bridge – OTT TV content service providers hope they can make money with their added-value services, interaction services and advertisements as well as new user fees to be collected in 2016.

Conceding that they had yet to make a profit, the OTT TV providers said OTT was the wave of the future and profits could definitely be made.

Nguyen Nguyet Phuong, director of MyTV, said MyTV last year set up a specific technical system for its OTT TV service. MyTVNet is available on all three operating systems, iOS, Android and Windows Phone, for both smartphones and tablets.

However, Phuong admitted that MyTV still had not earned money from MyTVNet, because it was nearly impossible to collect fees from OTT TV services.

MyTVNet has over 860,000 subscribers, if noting the number of downloads. However, most of the services are free.

He said that MyTV had spent a lot of money and mobilised resources to build a modern platform for OTT services, but profits were still eluding them.

MyTVNet’s main function today is to help attract more visitors and more views to the MyTV system. Phuong said profits would be made in the near future.

“MyTV plans to offer more services on many different screens, so that customers can watch films and use other added-value services from anywhere,” he said. “I hope we can think of collecting fees from OTT services from 2016.”

Do Viet Hung, general director of VTVline JSC, said the company’s VTVcab joined the OTT TV market in 2013. A decision on fee collection would depend on market growth.

However, like Phuong, Hung was optimistic about the OTT TV future. “I believe that everyone understands nothing in the world is free,” he said.

“When joining the OTT TV market, we think VTVcab is an additional service to pay-TV subscribers,” he added. “If the TV content services are good, I believe customers would be willing to pay a fee. Besides, service providers can also make money from other added value services, including the interaction service.”

Esther Nguyen, CEO and founder of POPS Worldwide, noted that when VTC sets up its TV channel on Youtube, it will be able to approach viewers throughout the world.

She said TV content service providers should think of developing OTT services, digitizing TV programs, and posting on the internet.

She noted that since the OTT market is different from the traditional TV market, it will take time to change people’s views on doing business on OTT.

Once OTT TV channels obtain a certain number of viewers, advertisers will want to use the service, thus bringing money to content service providers.

Benjamin Yun, a senior executive at Movideo, noted that there was another way for OTT TVs to make money.

He said content producers in Taiwan and China were willing to pay for OTT content created in Vietnam. They will then post this content on some of their OTT TV channels.

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