Warner, Sony Increase Investment in Asian Video Firm Hooq
Warner Bros and Sony have increased their investments in Hooq, a South East Asian video streaming platform. Hooq is raising a total of $25 million of additional capital.
The two studios are minority partners in the two-year old venture, which is predominantly owned by Singtel, Singapore’s dominant phone company. The news emerged in a regulatory filing by Singtel.
The filing shows that Hooq raised an initial $70 million and that the new funding round lifts that to $95 million. Singtel will continue to hold 65% of the venture, while Warner Bros. and Sony’s AXN each hold unchanged stakes of 17.5%.
Hooq is based in Singapore and now operates in five countries: India, Thailand, Indonesia and The Philippines, with Singapore the latest to launch.
Local media have reported that Hooq considers the funding to be a draw-down of pre-existing commitments and that it will consider further funding rounds in the future.
The company faces growing competition from Asian regional video streaming firms including Catchplay and Iflix, as well as from global giants. Both Netflix and Amazon unveiled global rollouts last year.
Iflix last year landed a $45 million injection from Sky, the 21st Century Fox-backed U.K. pay-TV giant. And it has been reported that Iflix is seeking $150 million of further capital that it would use for further expansion in Asia, and possibly further afield.
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