Viu recognised for its contribution to making K-wave a global phenomenon at Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards 2023

As part of Busan International Film Festival in South Korea

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 9 October 2023 – PCCW (SEHK: 0008) – Viu, Asia’s leading pan-regional OTT video streaming service, announced today that it had won the award for “Special Contribution for K-Wave” at the Asia Contents Awards and Global OTT Awards (ACA & G.OTT Awards) 2023 held in South Korea on 8 October 2023. The newly introduced category recognises the contribution of OTT streamers to making K-content a global phenomenon. Viu is one of the first winners in the category, having brought Korean and other Asian content to a wide audience globally, with over 60 million active users in its footprint.

Co-hosted by South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT and Busan Metropolitan City authorities, and co-organised by the Busan International Film Festival and Korea Radio Promotion Association, the ACA & G.OTT Awards celebrates the achievements of excellent content made for TV, OTT and online channels across Asia. The event is a rebrand of the fifth-edition Asia Contents Awards (ACA), as part of its efforts to embrace changes in the growing content industry and support well-made domestic and international content.

Since its launch in 2015, Viu has been one of the strongest promoters of Asian content, especially K-content, outside of Korea in the digital space. Currently in its eighth year of operation, Viu offers localised K-dramas on the same day as their telecast in Korea, on top of actively investing in Korean Viu Originals. Viu was also among the first OTT service providers to launch a freemium model in Asia, which helped accelerate its uptake and the legal consumption of Korean content in the digital space, effectively monetising K-content for both AVOD and SVOD.

Janice Lee, CEO, Viu & PCCW Media Group, said, “We are grateful for the recognition of Viu for its achievements as an OTT streamer in popularising K-content globally and Asian Viu Originals across Asia, the Middle East and South Africa. We thank our many partners in Korea for entrusting us with their creative work and for lending us their support over the years. Korean content has been one of the key pillars of our success across markets. It continues to be an important part of our mix of offerings alongside Viu Originals productions, which include local adaptations of popular K-dramas like She Was Pretty, upcoming W in Malaysia, Flower of Evil in the Philippines, and the recently announced remake of Reborn Rich in Thailand. We remain committed to bringing the best of Korean and other Asian content to a global audience.”

Moon Munyeon Kim, Chief of Organising Committee, ACA & G.OTT commented, “We’re truly honoured and grateful for receiving over 210 entries for our awards event this year and would like to share the valuable moments with all nominees and winners of each award category in Busan. Most significantly, it’s our great pleasure to celebrate Viu as a winner of ‘Special Contribution for K-Wave’ category. We really appreciate Viu’s contribution to distributing K-content worldwide with various international languages and believe that Viu is the one to show us how K-content moves in the global market.”

Hashtag: #Viu #PCCW

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About Viu

Viu, PCCW’s leading pan-regional over-the-top (OTT) video streaming service, is available in 16 markets across Asia, the Middle East and South Africa, with 65.5 million monthly active users (MAU) as of June 2023. In July 2023, PCCW and CANAL+ formed a strategic partnership to accelerate the growth of Viu, making CANAL+ a minority shareholder in Viu.

The Viu service is available to consumers through a dual model with an ad-supported free tier and a premium subscription tier (consisting of different subscription options).

Viu offers fresh premium TV series, movies and lifestyle programmes, in different genres from top content providers, in local and regional languages and subtitles. It also produces premium original productions under the brand “Viu Original”. Viu also offers users streaming and download features and localised user interfaces across a myriad of connected devices. Viu can provide the best viewing experience regardless of device or network conditions.

Viu-ers can access the service via the Viu app (available for free on App Store and Google Play) on connected devices, e.g. smartphones and tablets, selected smart TVs, and on the web by logging into www.viu.com.

In addition, Viu Scream Dates is Viu’s fan meet offering across its markets. Viu Scream Dates aims to extend the Viu experience beyond the screens by bringing the stars closer to their fans via live events and experiences. Viu International Limited, through its subsidiary Moov (Hong Kong) Limited, also operates MOOV, a popular digital music streaming and live music concerts service in Hong Kong.

About PCCW Limited

PCCW Limited (SEHK: 0008) is a global company headquartered in Hong Kong which holds interests in telecommunications, media, IT solutions, property development and investment, and other businesses.

The Company holds a majority stake in the HKT Trust and HKT Limited, Hong Kong’s premier telecommunications service provider and leading operator of fixed-line, broadband, mobile communication and media entertainment services. HKT delivers end-to-end integrated solutions employing emerging technologies to assist enterprises in transforming their businesses. HKT has also built a digital ecosystem integrating its loyalty programme, e-commerce, travel, insurance, big data analytics, fintech and healthtech services to deepen its relationship with customers.

PCCW owns a fully integrated multimedia and entertainment group in Hong Kong engaged in the provision of over-the-top (OTT) video service locally and in other regions, as well as content production, artiste management and the event business.

Through HK Television Entertainment Company Limited, PCCW also operates a domestic free TV service in Hong Kong.

In addition, PCCW holds a stake in Pacific Century Premium Developments Limited and other overseas investments.

To learn more about PCCW, please visit www.pccw.com.