PCCW Media looks beyond Hong Kong with Vuclip investment

Hong Kong-based PCCW Media has announced it will be acquiring a majority stake in mobile on-demand video platform Vuclip.Headquartered in California, Vuclip operates in Asian markets such as India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand as well as the United Arab Emirates.  Its services are also available in Egypt.Vuclip has plans to launch its services in other Southeast Asian markets this year as well as other countries in Africa and the Middle East in the future.The agreement comes after Vuclip announced a partnership with Indonesian telecommunications giant Indosat, which has over 54 million subscribers, in January to offer mobile on-demand services.The investment will help PCCW Media expedite the roll-out of over-the-top (OTT) video services in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.Janice Lee, managing director at PCCW Media, said, “Vuclip and PCCW Media will develop an OTT platform that provides immediate access to PCCW Media content, including Korean, Japanese, and Chinese language content, across a much expanded audience base in the Asian continent and other regions.""The integrated billing solution Vuclip has developed with its telecom partners in various markets will enable us to fast track our OTT video and music market penetration globally.”Vuclip founder Nickhil Jakatdar will retain his role as Vuclip CEO following the acquisition.