Hooq

Hooq
Type of businessPrev. Joint venture
Curr. private company
Type of site
Prev. OTT platform
Curr. OTT meta search platform
Available inEnglish, Thai, Indonesian
Founded30 January 2015; 9 years ago (2015-01-30)
Predecessor(s)
Successor(s)
Headquarters
Singapore
Area served
Key peoplePrev. Peter Bithos
(CEO)
Curr. Jay Bae
(CEO)
ProductsVideo streaming
URLhttps://hooq.tv
Current statusOnline

Hooq (stylised in all caps, pronounced like hook) was a Singaporean video on demand streaming service. It was a joint-venture of Singtel, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros., with presence in the Philippines, Thailand, India, Indonesia, and Singapore. Hooq was valued at $420 million dollars.[1] Hooq filed for liquidation on 27 March 2020, and shut down on 30 April 2020. Its assets were acquired by Coupang.

History

Hooq was a joint venture of Singtel, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros., established on 30 January 2015, when the presence of Netflix in Asia was still limited.[1] An online streaming video platform, Hooq would be able to capitalise on Singtel's reach and distribution to deliver Hollywood movies, television series, as well as local programming to Asian markets.[1] Hooq also produced original content to attract subscribers,[2] starting with a mini-series based on the multi-award-winning movie, On the Job which revolves around a hard-hitting topic in Philippine society.[3]

The platform was progressively launched in the Philippines, Thailand, India, Indonesia, and Singapore over 2015 and 2016.[1][2][4] The content on the platform was accessed with a monthly or yearly subscription fee.[5]

Hooq was named Best Mobile App in the Media, Film, TV or Video category at the GSMA's Global Mobile (GLOMO) Awards 2016 in Barcelona.[6]

Due to its fast growing, but loss-making status in Singtel's portfolio, an initial public offering was considered for value realisation in 2019.[7] However, on 27 March 2020, Hooq filed for liquidation, citing "significant structural changes" that had occurred in the over-the-top (OTT) video market and its competitive landscape.[8] Its global headcount of 240 staff was affected and laid off during this liquidation process.[9] Hooq shut down on 30 April 2020.[10][11]

Ownership

Singtel owned 65 percent of Hooq's shares, while Sony Pictures and Warner Bros. each owned 17.5 percent.[1] The share structure remained unchanged when it raised an additional US$25,000,000 in 2017.[2] On 27 March 2020, when announced its plans for liquidation, it was revealed that Singtel has an indirect control of 76.5 percent of the company.[12]

In July 2020, South Korean e-commerce company Coupang acquired Hooq's software assets, which are being used as the basis of its own service Coupang Play.[13][14]

In early 2024, South Korean search engine marketing company Hedley Digital acquired Hooq's digital assets and transformed it into OTT meta search platform form.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Joint venture start-up, to offer a regional over-thetop (OTT) video service in Asia". dealroom.co. March 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Hooq raised additional USD25 million from its shareholders – Omdia". technology.informa.com. Archived from the original on 21 August 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  3. ^ "Hooq gets 'On the Job' as a mini-series". 3 June 2016. Archived from the original on 27 December 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  4. ^ "Singtel inks JV with Warner Bros, Sony Pictures to distribute videos in Asia". Singapore Business Review. 30 January 2015. Archived from the original on 21 October 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  5. ^ "TV streaming services in Singapore: Which should you go for?". AsiaOne. 20 September 2019. Archived from the original on 27 December 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  6. ^ "Hooq named best mobile app in Barcelona's GLOMO Awards". Manila Bulletin. Archived from the original on 26 April 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  7. ^ Leow, Annabeth (27 June 2019). "Singtel CEO's pay nearly halved to S$3.5m". The Business Times. Archived from the original on 27 December 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  8. ^ Lam, Fiona (27 March 2020). "Singtel's video streaming service Hooq in liquidation". The Business Times. Archived from the original on 16 September 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  9. ^ "240 staff axed by Singtel's Hooq face uncertain future". The Business Times. 23 April 2020. Archived from the original on 30 April 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  10. ^ "Streaming service Hooq to shut down on 30 April". The Jakarta Post. 28 April 2020. Archived from the original on 5 October 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  11. ^ "Indian Arrowverse Fans Left in the Dark as Hooq Shuts Down". NDTV. 30 April 2020. Archived from the original on 30 April 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  12. ^ "Singtel-backed streaming service Hooq files for liquidation". CNA. Archived from the original on 27 December 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  13. ^ "SoftBank-Backed Coupang Buys Hooq Assets to Take on Netflix". Bloomberg. 9 July 2020. Archived from the original on 10 July 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  14. ^ "쿠팡, 싱가포르 OTT서비스 '훅' 인수". ZUM 뉴스 (in Korean). 10 July 2020. Archived from the original on 21 May 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  15. ^ 김병규 (21 May 2024). "싱가포르판 OTT '훅(HOOQ)' 디지털 자산 인수…"OTT 메타검색 플랫폼으로 탈바꿈"". 헤럴드경제 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 21 May 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.