PCCW takes on Netflix, pirates in battle for profits

CEO Janice Lee talks about battling cable cutters and pirates while turbo-charging a regional rollout of hot new media technology OTT via M&A. Local rival TVB meanwhile gives up.

Watching TV via the internet has been slow to take off across Asia, mostly due to patchy network coverage, piracy and expensive data plans. That is changing fast.  

Netflix’s arrival in Asia early in 2016 and Amazon’s launch of Prime Video in December created a buzz around the digital delivery of entertainment, dubbed over-the-top OTT content because it bypasses traditional broadcasters or cable networks.

The land grab by the two US streaming giants is turbo-charging investment by local incumbents, already battling to adapt the latest OTT technology for Asian audiences and vacuuming up content.

Chinese TMT players, from ecommerce giant Alibaba to 'Netflix...

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