MAINBOARD-LISTED film production group mm2 Asia will be launching a new on-demand streaming platform offering movies in Singapore, with plans to expand into regional markets, it said in a bourse filing on Wednesday.

 

The platform, Cathay CineHOME, will let viewers watch movies on a pay-per-view basis. It will provide them with access to films immediately after their theatrical window, as well as films with a limited theatrical run, or " online movies" , which are a growing trend in China.

 

mm2 Asia said it has not yet finalised the business terms and pricing plan for Cathay CineHOME with major studio and producer partners, but is targeting the service to be available in the third quarter this year.

 

Cathay CineHOME will complement the Cathay Cineplexes brand of cinemas, which mm2 Asia acquired in 2017.

 

mm2 Asia executive chairman Melvin Ang said Cathay CineHOME will not replace the experience of going to the cinema. Instead, it offers movie lovers the option to enjoy films in their own time if they are unable to go to the cinema.

 

The standard release routine for a movie is guided by " release windows" , which are designed to keep different release formats from competing with each other. This allows a movie to take advantage of different formats (such as cinema, airlines, digital video on demand, and television) at different times, to optimise its commercial value.

 

Cathay Cineplexes and Cathay CineHOME will be aligned to take advantage of this multi-platform release window opportunity, mm2 Asia said.

 

Mr Ang added that the company had " always wanted a complementary platform to our cinemas to address the needs of movie lovers to achieve our long-announced OTT (over the top) ambitions" .

 

" The coronavirus situation has simply accelerated the group' s total digital strategy," he added.

 

OTT refers to content streaming using the Internet, instead of through a cable or satellite provider.

 

Earlier last month, Hooq Digital, a joint venture firm in which Singtel has a 76.5 per cent effective interest, commenced a creditors' voluntary winding-up.

 

In the five years since the firm was founded, " significant structural changes" have occurred in the OTT video market and competitive landscape, Hooq had said then.

 

" Global and local content providers are increasingly going direct, the cost of content remains high, and emerging-market consumers' willingness to pay has increased only gradually amid an increasing array of choices," it said.

 

As a result, a viable business model for an independent OTT distribution platform had became increasingly challenged, it added.

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MAINBOARD-LISTED movie company MM2 Asia, which owns Cathay Cineplexes, set up a new subsidiary on Thursday to carry out digital film distribution and streaming activities.

 

The incorporation of wholly-owned mmCinehome is not expected to have any material impact on the group' s net tangible assets and earnings per share for the year to March 31, 2021, the board disclosed.