Over-the-top (OTT) content providers in the Asia-Pacific region are realizing more and more the great benefits of partnering with telecommunications operators. Telcos in Southeast Asia are particularly popular among major OTT companies seeking to widen their market reach.
At Apigate, we are advocating that one of the smartest strategies for OTT platforms is to partner up with telcos. These partnerships are especially important in the face of increased competition and other market challenges in both the telco and OTT spaces.
Today, telcos are facing thinning margins. In Western Europe, revenues are declining at over 3% per year. The changing usage pattern of mobile users present many challenges for telcos, especially during the pandemic which saw a tremendous shift to the digital space across sectors. The spike in apps usage, online meetings, and content consumption have accelerated the telco price wars in the attempt to slow the churn rate.
If you are in the OTT space, you know the challenges. A major one would be that you are competing with some huge providers that have much more budget and brand recognition to conquer the marketplace.
However, having a smart strategy will give you an advantage over the competition. Partnerships between OTT providers and telcos have great synergies that amplify benefits for both parties.
Here are three great advantages that OTT platforms gain from partnering with telcos.
1. Ability To Target Audiences
A timeless marketing maxim is that if you are marketing to everybody, it really means you are marketing to nobody. As an OTT platform, you need to know who is going consume your content and what they want to consume. Telco brands have valuable customer data that can be tapped into to either tailor your content to suit them, or to match their audience base to your content. Since you are tapping into a typical user base of millions, that is valuable big data that can help you refine your OTT offerings and marketing as well.
2. 24/7 Access To Already Connected Users
3. Simple Payment Model
Partnering with telcos enables OTT platforms to resolve one of the biggest challenges in the industry. Many consumers don’t like the hassle of paying separately for every OTT platform they subscribe to. By partnering with a telco, the billing and payment is done by the telco through Direct Carrier Billing. This frees up your resources so you can do what you do best – finding and presenting the best content for your audience.
The key to realising these benefits lies in collaborating with the right business partner who has the telco networks and technological resources to.
At Apigate, we understand the importance of content monetisation for both telcos and OTT platforms. As part of Axiata, a leading Asian telco group, Apigate’s end-to-end API platform solution is able to offer OTT platforms the ability to onboard their content seamlessly across markets in SouthEast Asia and effectively monetise through Direct Carrier Billing.
Talk to us to find out how Apigate can facilitate your telco partnership through our close links with mobile operators across Asia.
