Is HBO getting ready to release Season 9 of Game of Thrones?! Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : HBO will be releasing Game of Thrones Season 9!
People are sharing a Music Mundial article which claims that HBO is planning to release a new season of Game of Thrones – its ninth season!
Here is the viral Music Mundial article. Please feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!
HBO would be releasing a new season of Game of Thrones
HBO, a well-known American production business, has sparked quite a craze among its followers after rumors of the firm’s plans to release a new season of the venerable television series Game of Thrones started to circulate. The fresh possibilities that have been shown to the saga’s audience have them incredibly enthused.
The excitement over HBO’s announcement that they intend to produce a ninth season of Game of Thrones, which will debut soon, has spread to the farthest reaches of the globe.
The well-known production firm wants to continue this legendary series and reschedule a plot that will pick off where the last season left off. As a result, it will feature the characters who survived King’s Landing’s climactic fight. Obviously, this is a bombshell, and fans of the series may find it to be a real pleasure.
The production company’s spokespeople have also announced that Kit Harington will return to the series as Jon Snow. This makes it official that one of the Seven Kingdoms’ most beloved characters will serve as the main character of both the original series and the soon-to-be-released spin-off.
Although there haven’t been any additional details released about this new season of HBO Game of Thrones, the production studio has already started planning what they want to see. As a result, efforts are already being made to create a potential script that will serve as the foundation for putting this new episode of the series into action.
No Evidence HBO Is Even Working On Game of Thrones Season 9!
This is yet another example of celebrity FAKE NEWS created by Music Mundial to generate page views, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : HBO Did Not Announce A New GoT Season
Music Mundial claimed that HBO announced that it intends to “produce a ninth season of Game of Thrones“. There was no such announcement.
The eighth and last season of Game of Thrones premiered on April 14, 2019, but was widely panned by critics and its fans. Even so, many wondered if HBO would continue to milk the GoT cash cow, by producing a ninth season.
However, HBO has never announced that it was even considering Game of Thrones Season 9. I should point out that production for the main GoT series wrapped in July 2018 – almost 5 years ago!
Fact #2 : HBO Only Announced Prequels
Instead of Game of Thrones Season 9, HBO produced the prequel series, House of the Dragon, which premiered on August 21, 2022. It was renewed for a second season, and filming started in April 2023.
HBO also announced a new prequel series called A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight on April 12, 2023. This prequel does not involve any of the original GoT cast, as it is set about a century before the main GoT series, and be based on Ser Duncan the Tall, and a young Aegon V Targaryen.
Fact #3 : HBO May Be Considering Jon Snow Spin-off
HBO is said to be planning to develop a Jon Snow spin-off series, that is set to take place after Game of Thrones Season 8. Apparently, Kit Harington pitched the idea of that spin-off series to George R.R. Martin.
However, HBO’s head of drama Francesca Orsi recently rebuffed those claims, saying that the project has not actually been given the green light, and there has been “no determination on whether it can go all the way“.
Both Music Mundial and Release Date offered no evidence for their claims that HBO is producing Game of Thrones Season 9, and is set to release it.
There was no HBO announcement, and certainly no announcement by the “production company’s spokespeople”.
Ironically, Music Mundial then talks about “a potential script” being developed. That itself is evidence that the so-called Season 9 has not even been approved, never mind announced.
Amusingly, the Release Date article even states that the 8th season of Game of Thrones “will be the final one“, negating its own article completely!
All these peculiar mistakes suggest that both articles were simply generated by AI, which allows these fake news / rumour websites to generate a lot of bullshit “content” without any effort.
Fact #4 : This Is Just Music Mundial Fake News
This appears to be nothing more than yet another example of celebrity fake news posted by Music Mundial. Here are examples of Music Mundial fake news that I looked into:
Everything Music Mundial posts should be considered as FAKE NEWS, until proven otherwise.
Please help us fight fake news – SHARE this article, and SUPPORT our work!
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Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Did Korean livestreamer BJ케이 die suddenly on a live video stream?!
Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Korean Livestreamer BJ케이 Died Suddenly On Air!
People keep sharing a video of Korean livestreamer BJ케이 spinning and collapsing on live video, with many anti-vaccination activists calling it evidence of yet another vaccine sudden death.
Here is a selection of social media posts accompanying links or articles on the viral video :
No Jumper : Korean streamer suddenly dies while live streaming at a restaurant
The American Journal : Shocking: Korean Livestreamer DIES On-Air After Creepy #vaccine -Turn
#korean dies on liveStream does the #DeathSpin 😳☠️🤔 #NewNormal #Latest
Korean live streamer “dies suddenly” on camera. 💉👀 (November 2022)
Claim : Korean Livestreamer BJ케이 Did Not Die Suddenly!
It’s now a tradition for anti-vaccination activists to immediately blame all celebrity deaths or illnesses on the COVID-19 vaccine.
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and propagated by anti-vaccination activists, and here are the reasons why, and what we know so far…
Fact #1 : Korean Livestreamer Is Called BJ케이
You may notice that all those posts conspicuously do not mention the name of the Korean influencer. That’s likely intentional, to prevent you from looking him up.
The man in the viral video is called BJ케이, also known as 박중규 / 朴重奎 / Park Jung-kyu – a 33 year-old Korean livestreamer.
The incident was captured during a livestream on afreecatv, which is short for Any FREE broadCAsting – a Korean video streaming service based on peer-to-peer technology. In addition to streaming on afreecatv, BJ케이 also has a YouTube channel.
Fact #2 : Video Does Not Show BJ케이 Dying
In the viral afreecatv video, BJ케이 is seen speaking with three other people, before he inexplicably looks backwards and does a spin before falling backwards onto the table.
His fall causes the livestream camera to fall, and point upwards at the ceiling and chandelier. The video itself does not show BJ케이 dying. You can literally hear him groaning in the background.
Claims that the Korean livestreamer BJ케이 died on that live video is false. BJ케이 is very much still alive, just like many people featured in the Died Suddenly movie.
For one thing, BJ케이 continued posting videos on his YouTube channel – on December 1 and December 3, 2022.
Fact #4 : BJ케이 Had An Epileptic Fit
On December 4, 2022, BJ케이 posted a notice on his afreecatv blog, stating that his doctor told him his collapse was likely due to epilepsy, and he would undergo EEG and MRI tests on Monday, December 5.
He also said that he had a bad flu that day, but tested twice for COVID-19, and both PCR tests were negative.
Here is his post in Korean, machine translated into English:
I didn’t post earlier, so I wrote this post because I thought my viewers will be curious.
I went to the university hospital a few days ago and was treated. The doctor said it seems to be epilepsy.
Tomorrow, on Monday, I will get hospitalized and undergo EEG and MRI tests for a day or two. Since I must be accompanied by someone, I will go with Lauren.
Yesterday both PCR tests were negative! I had a really bad flu, so if it was positive for the coronavirus, I can’t be hospitalized and my tests would be delayed.
Fortunately, it’s just the flu!!! I’ll have to go tomorrow and ask the doctor when the results will come out, but I will definitely return within the next week.
Thank you for waiting. This time, I was nominated for the talk cam room grand prize… Thank you….
I’ll come back when I’m healthy
너무 공지 사항을 올리지 않아서 시청자분들이 궁금해 하실 것 같아서 공지를 쓰게 되었습니다.
It is currently unknown if BJ케이 was vaccinated against COVID-19, so it would be wrong for anyone to claim that he died from COVID-19 vaccine side effects.
For all we know – he may not even be vaccinated! The COVID-19 vaccine is not mandatory in the South Korea, despite what anti-vaccination activists may claim.
Before anyone can claim that he was “injured” by the COVID-19 vaccine, they should first confirm that he was vaccinated in the first place.
Fact #5 : Claims Of Celebrities Injured By COVID-19 Vaccine Proven False
This is yet another example of anti-vaccination activists abusing celebrity deaths / injuries to create and propagate FAKE NEWS about the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines.
So far, claims of celebrity deaths / injuries due to the COVID-19 vaccine have been proven false at every instance. Here is the latest dozen of other false celebrity claims!
Will these anti-vaccination activists apologise for lying to you? Nope! They will just move on to the next celebrity tragedy…
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Don’t forget to protect yourself, and your family, by vaccinating against COVID-19!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Did Brazilian gamer Pedro Qualy turn around and die suddenly on his video live stream?!
Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Gamer Pedro Qualy Died Suddenly On Live Stream!
People keep sharing a video of a gamer turning around and then falling over during a video live stream, with anti-vaccination activists calling it evidence of yet another vaccine sudden death.
Here is a selection of social media posts accompanying the viral video :
Another one. Gamer dies suddenly on live steam #DiedSuddenly ☠😔
Gamer “dies suddenly” on live stream 💉
🌎 🇺🇸 Vaccinated 💉 Gamer dies suddenly at live stream
Gamer “dies suddenly” on live steam 💉👀 (2022) #VaccineSideEffects #DiedSuddenly
Truth : Gamer Pedro Qualy Did NOT Die On Live Stream!
It’s now a tradition for anti-vaccination activists to immediately blame all celebrity deaths or illnesses on the COVID-19 vaccine.
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and propagated by anti-vaccination activists, and here are the reasons why, and what we know so far…
Fact #1 : He Is A Brazilian Rapper Called Pedro Qualy
You may notice that all those posts conspicuously do not mention the name of the gamer in the video. That’s likely intentional, to prevent you from looking him up.
The man in the viral video is called Pedro Qualy, and he is actually a Brazilian rapper from the São Paulo band, Haikaiss.
Fact #2 : Video Does Not Show Pedro Qualy Dying
In the viral video, Pedro Qualy is seen looking over his right shoulder, before falling over his keyboard, and jerking as he falls backwards and off his chair.
Nothing in the video shows Pedro Qualy dying. It only shows him suffering a seizure.
In the longer version of the video, Pedro Qualy’s wife, Anna Brisa, is seen entering the room with their two daughters. She doesn’t seem to be aware of what’s going on, and asked if he was pranking her.
Pedro was not able to speak, but one of the people viewing the live stream told he, “No, Anna, seriously, He is having an epileptic fit.”
The rapper recovered and several hours later, posted a video to assure his fans that he was alive and well.
Fact #4 : Video Was Recorded In August 2020
The viral video showing Pedro Qualy suffering a seizure on his live stream was recorded on August 28, 2020.
That’s four months before the first COVID-19 vaccine was approved! Needless to say – this gamer / rapper’s epileptic fit had nothing to do with the COVID-19 vaccines!
It is currently unknown if Pedro Qualy was vaccinated against COVID-19, so it would be wrong for anyone to claim that he died from COVID-19 vaccine side effects.
For all we know – he may not even be vaccinated! The COVID-19 vaccine is not mandatory in Brazil, despite what anti-vaccination activists may claim.
Before anyone can claim that he was “injured” or “killed” by the COVID-19 vaccine, they should first confirm that he was vaccinated in the first place.
Fact #6: Claims Of Celebrities Injured By COVID-19 Vaccine Proven False
This is yet another example of anti-vaccination activists abusing celebrity deaths / injuries to create and propagate FAKE NEWS about the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines.
So far, claims of celebrity deaths / injuries due to the COVID-19 vaccine have been proven false at every instance. Here is the latest dozen of other false celebrity claims!
Will these anti-vaccination activists apologise for lying to you? Nope! They will just move on to the next celebrity tragedy…
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Don’t forget to protect yourself, and your family, by vaccinating against COVID-19!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Netflix just announced a second round of layoffs, firing 300 more employees!
Netflix Fires 300 More Employees In Round 2 Of Layoffs!
Back in February, Netflix announced that it lost 200,000 subscribers globally at the start of 2022. Even worse, it projected a decline of 2 million users in the upcoming quarter.
They blamed the drop on everything from increased competition from rival streaming services, to the economy and the war in Ukraine, as well as people sharing their Netflix accounts.
Their response was to curb losses by laying off their employees. They started by firing 150 employees last month, and followed up with 300 more employees this month.
So far, the 450 fired employees make up about 4% of the streaming giant’s workforce of about 11,000 globally.
Most of those who were fired were based in the US and allegedly of minorities, or those working on projects catering to marginalised communities.
Netflix also fired another 70 employees working for its social media and publishing teams last month, including those that catered to marginalised communities.
But while Netflix claimed that it will help reduce costs, the 4% trimming of their workforce is unlikely to make much of a dent… unless Netflix intends to fire even more employees.
Sadly, it seems likely we will see more people getting let go at Netflix.
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
It’s the end for Dimsum, after Star Media Group management announced their decision to shut it down!
Find out what just happened, and why it lasted less than 5 years!
Dimsum Calls It Quits, After Less Than 5 years!
After less than 5 years, Star Media Group is calling it quits in the VOD (Video On Demand) subscription business.
On 6 April 2021, they announced that they would shut down Dimsum Entertainment by 30 September 2021.
This decision came after the media group appointed Alex Yeow Wai Saw as CEO on 1 March 2021, and Tan Sri Chor Chee Heung as independent and non-executive chairman on 15 March 2021.
Why Did Dimsum Fail?
Officially, a strategic review by its new key management team apparently identified new opportunities for the group to explore.
Chief marketing officer Lam Swee Kim said that while it was a difficult decision to end this chapter, “we are excited to explore promising new ventures in the near future”.
What’s left unsaid is that in the last 4+ years, Dimsum had very little mindshare, even though it offers free viewing, supported by ads.
It focused on Asian content, which is also the focus on iflix and iQIYI (both of which are more established) as well as Viu.
But people who wanted to watch Chinese shows would stick with iQIYI, while those who wanted Korean shows would use Viu. iflix had better luck with ASEAN content.
And with Disney+ coming to Malaysia very soon – the launch was slated for 31 March 2021, but got delayed at the last minute – the writing was on the wall.
Granted, Disney+ would be competing mainly with Netflix and Apple TV+, but most Malaysians can hardly afford multiple streaming services.
If given the option between paying for Disney+ and paying for Dimsum VIP, the choice seems obvious.
The new management team probably “understood” that they would see subscribers shifting to the free offering, and decided to cut losses.
Honestly, we doubt many people would notice them leaving… there are simply too many alternative options offering the same or similar Asian content.
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Maxis TV promises to offer multiple OTT steaming services at a cheaper price.
Take a look at what Maxis TV actually offers, and find out if it’s really worth your money!
Maxis TV : Cheaper OTT Streaming Bundles?
What exactly is Maxis TV? Maxis calls it a “first of its kind video entertainment service”.
Let’s be clear – Maxis TV is not a video streaming service. In fact, Maxis doesn’t actually stream anything to anyone.
All Maxis TV really does is offer bundles of five existing OTT streaming services.
dimsum
iQIYI
MUBI
viu
WeTV iflix
While they call it “completely new in the market and cannot be found anywhere else”, that’s only true if you are too lazy to subscribe to those streaming services yourselves.
Their true value proposition is offering these OTT streaming services at cheaper prices, with a single payment point. That’s really it.
Maxis TV Bundles : Are They Worth It?
Maxis TV promises to offer flexible OTT bundle passes, which confusingly, are divided into three categories :
Single Pass (should really be called Limited Pass) – Daily with 3 GB data limit : RM 3 – Weekly with 5 GB data limit : RM 5 – Monthly with 10 GB data limit : RM 9.99
2-OTT Bundle with Unlimited Data : RM 18 per month
Unlimited Bundle with Unlimited Data : RM 42 per month
We can quickly identify a few problems with the Maxis TV bundles…
Single Pass with Limited Data
Maxis should have kept things simple – charge by the day, week or month. But they had to complicate it by adding a data limit.
Their potential subscribers are going to have to figure out – how much data does this movie take up? Or that TV episode?
Why add this unnecessary limit? It seems intentionally designed to prevent binge-watching by people on a budget.
2-OTT Bundle
Maxis TV offers only five combinations for their 2-OTT Bundle.
You cannot, for example, choose dimsum and viu, or MUBI and dimsum, or MUBI and iQIYI.
This is partly because WeTV and iflix are much cheaper than viu.
Dimsum, WeTV, iflix Are FREE / Cheaper
You can actually watch dimsum, WeTV and iflix content for FREE.
You only need to pay for VIP access to certain “hot” content, or the ability to skip advertisements (WeTV and dimsum).
Only One Package Worth Considering
Unless you are looking to subscribe to multiple bundles, it is generally cheaper to subscribe directly :
dimsum VIP : RM 8.90 per month
MUBI : RM 15 per month, RM 120 per year
iQIYI Standard VIP : RM 8.90 per month
viu : RM 12.90 per month, RM 88 per year
WeTV VIP : RM 7.90 per month
iflix VIP : RM 3 per week
From our POV, the only Maxis TV bundle worth considering is the Unlimited Pass, which gives you access to all five OTT services. You will then save RM 13 per month.
Even that is assuming you plan to watch all five of them. If you only want to use 3-4 of those OTT services, it is cheaper to just subscribe directly.
Maxis TV : Free 1-Month Trial!
Maxis is now offering a free one-month trial for all new Maxis TV subscribers, even for non-Maxis customers.
So you can give it a try, or use it to get some free streaming for a month. Just make sure you discontinue it before the subscription kicks in automatically!
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Netflix just released a video trailer, six teaser photos and some plot teasers of Sex Education Season 2! Here are the full details!
Sex Education
In Sex Education, Otis Milburn is a socially awkward high school student who is the son of a sex therapist – Jean.
In Season 1, Otis and his friend, Maeve Wiley, set up a sex clinic at school to capitalise on his intuitive talent for sex advice.
Sex Education Season 2
Netflix announced that Sex Education will return with 8 new episodes in 2020, directed by Ben Taylor, Alice Seabright and Sophie Goodhart.
In Sex Education Season 2, Otis must master his newly-discovered sexual urges to progress with his girlfriend, Ola… while handling his strained relationship with Maeve.
Meanwhile, a Chlamydia outbreak hits Moordale Secondary, highlighting the need for better sex education and the new kids who are challenging the status quo at the school.
Here are some teasers of the plot in Sex Education Season 2 :
Maeve and Aimee’s BFF relationship is stronger than ever since Aimee ditched ‘the Untouchables’.
Eric notices his new-found self-confidence attracting unfamiliar kinds of attention.
Adam is at military school, still conflicted by his feelings for Eric.
Lily has hit pause on her sexual endeavours to focus on her creative talents and finds a new found friend in Ola.
Jackson is forced to flex his mental rather than physical muscle and is still buckling under the pressure from his parents to succeed.
Jean and Jakob’s relationship is discovered and they have to learn how to operate as a blended family. Jean forms an unlikely connection with Mrs Groff and a friendship between the two women begins to form.
Sex Education Season 2 Photos
Netflix also shared with us six photos from Season 2 of Sex Education :
Sex Education Season 2 Success Critical For Netflix
Netflix is counting on their original series like Sex Education to stave off the exodus when Disney Plus launches later today, and HBO Max comes online.
Sex Education Season 1 was a success for Netflix, and they are counting on Season 2 to keep subscribers from quitting their service.
Will it work? Or will subscribers decide that Disney+ at half the price of their Netflix subscription is a better bet? We will soon find out!
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Netflix just announced a special new RM 17 (US$4) mobile-only streaming plan for Malaysia!
Here is everything you need to know about this highly-affordable Netflix Mobile plan, and whether it’s worth the dough!
RM 17 Netflix Mobile Streaming Plan For Malaysia!
The new highly-affordable RM 17 Netflix mobile streaming plan is designed for individual users who consume content mainly on their smartphone or tablet.
For just RM 17 per month, the new Netflix Mobile plan allows you to watch all of Netflix’s content in standard definition (SD) on one smartphone or tablet at a time.
Netflix Mobile users will have access to both local and international content, as well as Parental Controls, Smart Downloads, adaptive UI and social media sharing.
With this new plan, Malaysians now have four different plans to choose from :
Netflix Mobile : How To Sign Up!
Signing up for this new streaming plan is simple :
Download the Netflix app on your smartphone or tablet, or visit www.netflix.com
Register and log into the Netflix app, or your Netflix account.
Select the Netflix Mobile plan for RM 17 per month.
Sharing Is A Better Option Than Netflix Mobile
While the new mobile plan is cheap, it is actually smarter and cheaper to share.
If you have a friend or family member who wants to watch Netflix too, opt for the Standard plan at RM 42 per month. Both of you can watch better HD quality video at the same time, for just RM 21 per person, per month.
The best option though is to share the Premium plan with three other friends or family members. It lets all four of you watch up to 4K videos at the same time, for just RM 12.75 per month, per person!
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DYKT you can share Netflix titles on Instagram Stories on both iPhone and Android smartphones? Here is how to do it on both platforms!
Sharing Netflix Titles On Instagram Stories
Netflix first announced the capability to share Netflix titles on Instagram Stories on 22 January 2019, but it was limited to their iPhone app.
That changed on 16 May 2019, when they finally released the same capability on their Android app.
Here is how you can share Netflix titles on Instagram Stories using these platforms :
Apple iPhone
The current Netflix iPhone app has an Instagram Stories share link. With this new feature, you can :
Select a Netflix title you want to share
Add the Netflix title’s custom art
Share it to Instagram Stories, or to your friends as a direct message
The Instagram story remains visible for 24 hours, and provides a “Watch On Netflix” link back to the title page within the Netflix app.
“We’re always on the lookout for ways to make it easier for members to share the Netflix titles they’re obsessing about and help them discover something new to watch. We hope our members enjoy this new feature!” said Leigh Wong Netflix’s Head of Communications for Southeast Asia.
Android Smartphones
The latest Netflix Android app will have a new Instagram Stories share link.
Select a Netflix title you want to share
You can personalise the default art further to add captions, stickers, and more
Share it to Instagram Stories, or to your friends as a direct message
“Sharing to Instagram Stories is now on all Android phones. You can share the shows and films you’re in love with directly from the Netflix app to your followers. Pop in a quiz for your friends to guess your favourite character from a show. Or a GIF to reflect your mood after a movie. It’s all part of what we’re doing to make it fun and easy to share what you’re watching, and help your friends find something new to watch.” said Netflix
Snapchat Sharing Coming Soon!
Netflix will also be adding Snapchat sharing to both iPhone and Android apps later this year.
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Get ready to be entertained! The iflix-Media Prima partnership is set to boost local content offering in Malaysia!
iflix-Media Prima Partnership To Boost Local Content Offering!
iflix announced its latest partnership with local media company Media Prima to boost local content!
Through this partnership, iflix will stream Media Prima’s content a mere one hour after the latter’s screening on its own platform. This will give iflix about 1,000 hours of Media Prima’s past content in the form of a separate Tonton channel on iflix.
The iflix-Media Prima Partnership Expands Viewership
This partnership will enable Media Prima to increase its reach all over the country, as its content is screened on iflixFREE, iflix‘s ad-supported tier.
New Content And Drama productions Coming Soon!
Both companies worked together before on the hit local drama Nur 2 through Primeworks Studios.
And soon it will include plans for new content and more drama co-productions through the iflix-Media Prima partnership.
“This alliance is a significant milestone and another considerable boost to iflix’s local content offering. Over the past three months, we have accelerated the pivot away from Western towards local and regional programming, to deliver the most relevant and compelling content to users in our territories for free.” said Mark Britt, iflix Co-Founder and Group CEO.
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iflix just announced A Broken Crayon – an inspirational documentary about Azran Osman-Rani’s gruelling recovery from a major accident to rejoining the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in less than six months!
A Broken Crayon – From Accident To Ironman In 6 Months!
On 27 May 2018, Azran Osman-Rani was on a routine training ride in Kuala Lumpur, when he was hit by a car.
Badly injured with multiple broken bones and a haematoma, he was expected to undergo months of physiotherapy before he could think about returning to triathlon competitions.
Yet, he underwent a gruelling intensive recovery process to make a triumphant return to the 2018 Ironman 70.3 World Championships… all in less than six months after his accident!
A Broken Crayon chronicles interviews of the first responders, Azran’s wife Azreen Osman-Rani and the specialists who treated him, as well as commentary from Azran himself.
It will premiere exclusively on iflixFERE and iflixVIP on 11 April 2019, so make sure you check it out!
The permanent scars all over my body from this accident remind me every day of the physical pain and mental anguish I went through from this ordeal and the difficult recovery process,” said Azran.
“But this documentary reminds me that no matter how tough things were, I pulled through, inch by inch, and got back up. And that I did it only with tremendous support from so many amazing people. I hope this helps to inspire others that life isn’t about avoiding risks but living it fully even if it means getting knocked down hard but learning how to get back up every time,” he said.
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Netflix is set to launch its original series – The Umbrella Academy – later today, 15 February! Here is everything you need to know about this new Netflix Original Series. Don’t forget to check out the three videos we posted!
The Umbrella Academy
This Netflix original series centres around the super dysfunctional members of The Umbrella Academy. The first season of this highly-anticipated series is set to be globally lauched on February 15, 2019.
On the same day in 1989, 43 infants are inexplicably born to random, unconnected women who showed no signs of pregnancy the day before. 7 are adopted by a billionaire who creates The Umbrella Academy and prepares his “children” to save the world.
Now, the 6 surviving members reunite upon the news of their father’s passing and must work together to solve a mystery surrounding his death.
But the estranged family begins to come apart due to their divergent personalities and abilities as well as the imminent threat of a global apocalypse.
The Umbrella Academy is based on the comic book series created and written by Gerard Way, illustrated by Gabriel Bá, and published by Dark Horse Comics.
The show is produced by Universal Cable Productions for Netflix, with Steve Blackman serving as executive producer and showrunner, and additional EPs Jeff F. King, Mike Richardson, Keith Goldberg, Gerard Way, and Gabriel Bá.
Launch Date: February 15, 2019
Created for Television by: Steve Blackman
Executive Producers: Steve Blackman (Showrunner/EP), Jeff King (EP), Keith Goldberg (EP), Mike Richardson (EP), Gerard Way (Co-EP), Gabriel Bá (Co-EP)
Produced by: Universal Cable Productions for Netflix
Series Stars: Ellen Page, Mary J. Blige, Cameron Britton, Tom Hopper, David Castañeda, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan, Aidan Gallagher, Colm Feore, Adam Godley, John Magaro, Ashley Madekwe, Kate Walsh
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iflix Mobile Web is giving users the gift of FREE MOVIES this Christmas season! Find out how you can enjoy these FREE MOVIES on iflix Mobile Web!
Over 60 FREE Movies Now Available On iflix Mobile Web!
iflix Mobile Web works exactly like the original iflix app, but is easier to access and use. It now enables users to play without the need to download and sign up on site.
Aren’t There Already Free Movies On iflix?
Yes, iflix already offers iflixFREE content such as movies, television shows, documentaries and football. These are now available on iflix Mobile Web without sign-up.
In addition, iflix has moved over 60 movies from the VIP tier to the free tier in celebration of this holiday season! Here are some of top FREE movies you can enjoy on iflix right away!
The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games Catching Fire
The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 1
The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2
Kick Ass
What To Expect When You’re Expecting
John Wick (2014)
Magic Mike
The Expendables
The Expendables 2
The Expendables 3
Paranormal Activity
Scream 4
Ringu
Ringu 2
Ringu 0 Birthday
Law Abiding Citizen
The Lincoln Lawyer
Looper
The Cabin In The Woods
Twilight Saga: New Moon
Twilight Saga Eclipse
Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Part 1
Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Part 2
The Mechanic
So Easy To Use!
Users only need to go to m.iflix.com on their Android smartphones (iOS coming soon!) and click any iflixFREE video to immediately start playing. What’s even better is that iflix Mobile Web loads faster and only takes 140kB of space on any mobile phone to run!
Like the app, users have the option to create an account if they want to and upgrade to iflixVIP and receive a 30-day VIP free trial that gives full access without any ads.
iflix Mobile Web Available Soon For iOS!
The iflix Mobile Web is currently only available for Android users but will soon be available to users of IOS as well.
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The iflixProgressive Web App (PWA) has just been launched to further drive online engagement of iflix users. Find out what this means for your online viewing on iflix!
The iflix Progressive Web App For Android!
iflix just launched a pure web app with a native-like experience for Android mobile devices.
With the iflix Progressive Web App (PWA), consumers no longer need to download the iflix app from their app store to enjoy many of iflix’s most popular features.
The all-new PWA runs self-contained in an app-like experience to ensure speed of access and reliability, even in areas of low connectivity.
Combining the user experience offered by its native application with this new mobile web experience, iflix now offers seamless access and the best of both app and web worlds.
Benefits Of Using The iflix Progressive Web App!
iflix’s new mobile web experience works on-demand and is always accessible without taking up users’ smartphone memory or data.
As it is lighter than a native app, the iflixProgressive Web App (PWA) loads faster and consumes less data and storage.
Companies like iflix benefit greatly too when they switch to a Progressive Web App, including :
An average 68% increase in mobile traffic for businesses
15% faster loading time and 52% increased conversions
25% less storage than native apps
The Proof Is In The Pudding!
Consumer brands like Twitter and Starbucks have reported significant business gains utilising this web technology.
Twitter saw 65% increase in page views following the launch of their Progressive Web App (PWA).
Forbes saw an increase of 43% in time spent per user session.
Tinder’s Progressive Web App (PWA) saw load times decrease by 50% in comparison to its native app which leads to longer session times and increased engagement.
Andy Paterson, iflix Vice President of Product, said, “This launch is a significant leap forward aligning technology development to our vision of democratising entertainment for the mass market.”
“Our new mobile web app will deliver great experiences for any device in any connectivity.”
“This is enormously valuable to customers in emerging markets which are mobile-first but can face challenges when it comes to consistent and reliable internet access.”
The new iflix Progressive Web App (PWA) will better serve its over one billion consumers throughout Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
If you like our work, you can help support our work by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
Netflix is launching Hymn of Death, a Korean drama of a famous tragic love story. What is Hymm of Death all about and who are the actors? Get all the juicy details about Hymm of Death right here!
Netflix Launching Korean Drama Hymn Of Death!
What is Hymm Of Death All About?
Hymn of Death is a 3-part series that tells the story about Korea’s first soprano Yun Sim-deok and her genius playwright boyfriend Kim Woo-jin. This popular yet tragic love story has been recreated in various formats including films, plays, and musicals throughout the years.
Who Are the Actors?
Lee Jong-suk (While You Were Sleeping and W) will portray the playwright Kim Woo-jin amidst a falling Korea while Shin Hye-sun (Still 17 and My Golden Life) will take on the role of the talented soprano Yun Sim-deok in Hymm of Death.
Who’s Directing Hymm Of Death?
Hymn of Death was directed by Park Soo-jin (The Doctors and Dr. Romantic) and was written by Cho Soo-jin.
When will Hymm Of Death Be Available?
Hymn of Death will be available in Korea one hour after broadcast on November 27, December 3 and December 4.
For Asia and English-speaking territories, Hymm of Death will be available on December 14 while all other territories including Europe will get to view it on December 28.
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Iflix joins forces with Telkomsel in Indonesia to make iflix available to 167 million subscribers throughout Indonesia! What does it mean for iflix and Telkomsel users in Indonesia? Read on and find out!
Iflix Joins Forces With Telkomsel Indonesia!
Iflix and PT Telekomunikasi Selular (Telkomsel) just announced the first step of the companies’ multi-phase strategic partnership with integrated carrier billing to make iflixVIP available to Telkomsel subscribers throughout Indonesia.
Telkomsel subscribers can now unlock iflixVIP for as little as Rp1,300/day through their mobile account while its monthly iflixVIP plans will be priced at an affordable Rp39,000/month.
IflixVIP offers an extensive library of award-winning iflix Originals, iflix NEWS, iflix SNACKS, linear channels, live special events, hundreds of TV shows, movies and even more premium content.
This will include exclusive, local original programs such as award-winning horror Pengabdi Setan, critically acclaimed drama Posesif, smash hit Magic Hour: The Series, popular Indonesian titles 5 cm and Eiffel I’m in Love, this year’s biggest K-romance Bewith You and Korean film I Can Speak along with many more.
Jason Monteiro, iflix Global Marketing Director said: “Indonesia is an important market for iflix.Now subscribers can conveniently access the world’s best entertainment available on iflixVIP and maximise their iflix experience through a simple and secure step. Carrier billing solves a key problem of lack payment methods for us. Now, everyone can be a VIP.”
“We are excited to partner with iflix as a key part of our digital video strategy to provide Telkomsel customers with the best and most popular services available. Video service is very high in demand as our customers utilise around 70% of their data quota for video streaming. Growth of video content traffic on our network has increased by over to 250% last year.
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At a star-studded event today, iflix kicked off iflix FREE with the newly-upgraded iflix 3.0 app. It now offers an all-new look and feel, with new local content absolutely FREE! Yes, the four-letter F word of the day is FREE!
iflix 3.0 Introduces Free + VIP Access with New Local Content!
Introducing iflix 3.0 was Diana Boo, Country Manager for iflix Malaysia and Brunei. It now comes with a plethora of new features and content.
iflix FREE
With iflix 3.0, iflix has made many of their most popular and exclusive content and features available for FREE! What do you get? Let’s see…
Movie of the Day – a new movie every day!
iflix Snacks – 50 new bite-sized videos are added every day, from QYou, Complex Media, local content creators, and iflix Originals like Caraoke Drift, Gila Gamers, Boleh Binge, and more!
Football Malaysia – every Liga Super, Piala FA, Piala Malaysia, Piala Sumbangsih match will be available LIVE!
Exclusive regional and international TV series, including The Grand Prince, My First Love, Poroporo, Tayo the Little Bus and more!
iflix Originals – exclusive, premium content including the upcoming KL Gangster: Underworld, Oi! Jaga Mulut, Jon Atherton: Disoriental, and Coconuts TV.
Download & Watch Offline allows users to download their favourite programs to enjoy offline!
Everything on iflix FREE is completely free for all iflix users, regardless of their subscription status.
iflix VIP
Those who want more premium content can level up and unlock iflix VIP. This is basically the old iflix subscription service. In addition to the iflix FREE content, you get :
Premium LIVE Sports, including more Football Malaysia, T10 Cricket League, 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, the English Premier League, the Olympics, NBA and more!
Special LIVE Events – local, regional and international concerts and competitions
If you like our work, you can help support our work by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
Bill Gates famously said that “content is king” in 1996, and that became a guiding principle for the Internet age. But it has never been more accurate than when it comes to describing millennials around the globe today and their expectations when it comes to mobile video.
Unlike previous generations, mobile consumers now have:
Accessibility – Anything happening anywhere in the world is available to them in real time
Awareness – Social media has taught them to be savvy and access to global content has given them heightened expectations when it comes to production quality of shows
Aspiration – As today’s youth are constantly aware of global fashion trends, consumer goods, and retail trends, they have sought to become true global citizens and wear, buy, and consume the same. This is also true for their entertainment consumption
Affordability – More consumers have rising disposable income, reduced costs for mobile data, and OTT premium content is able to benefit from both these trends and deliver more options and opportunities for consumers.
These are realities that will only continue to evolve in Malaysia and around the world. Of course, we have first-hand knowledge of this at Viu, with our users each consuming an average of 1.2 to 1.8 hours of content per day. By keenly listening to consumers and observing their habits to draw conclusions, as well as applying a conscious effort not to be tripped up by so called industry best practices, we have been able to bring a fresh new approach to OTT content in the region.
Globalization of local content and localization of global content
Video content isn’t concerned with borders or language. If people like something that airs in another country, they often have the means to watch it. But even better than just watching a dubbed, low-quality version, now they can watch shows that were successful in one part of the world that have been tailored to air as localized versions with high production value.
A recent example of this includes Tollywood Squares, our Indian reboot of the global franchise the Hollywood Squares. This also marks the first major CBS game show to be produced in India.
Viu also recently teamed up with the Endemol Shine Group to produce a localized, ten-episode season of The Bridge, a crime drama that was already popular in Europe and the United States. This adaptation will take the original premise and make it unique for the local audience, appealing to the diverse arrays of people, cuisines, and ethnicities that call Malaysia and Singapore home, highlighting both the diversity and similarity between the two countries. This will affect every aspect of the series, with both sides speaking local languages.
This is in addition to shows such as India’s What the Duck, a cricket-centered comedic talk show, and Indonesia’s The Publicist, a romantic drama series, proving to be highly popular outside of their respective countries with expat communities around the world.
Lifting up local talent and content
We’ve also found that the engagement of local talent and key opinion leaders in developing unique content has been a winning formula.
We first identify, nurture, and provide an opportunity for local talent. Once we do that, we can empower them with the financial and technical support to create high-quality content that showcases their talent. And then we can distribute it on Viu, where an audience of millions is ready to enjoy it around the globe.
For an example of this, Viu conducted a recent pitching forum in Indonesia, where we held auditions in five cities across the country and received hundreds of submissions, before picking Halustik by Sally Anom as the submission that we will turn into an original series. This annual event helps us develop top talent and gives us ideas on how to raise the status of the entire Indonesian content industry.
On a similar note, we noticed that the amount of time spent watching shows during Ramadan increased every year, so this year we developed specific content to watch during this time. This brought eight Arabic shows to Viu, many of which were developed by social media creators throughout the region.
Range of content formats and lengths prove popular
In addition to the trends above related to content development and consumption, we’ve also noted that the smartphone generation isn’t as concerned about historic video formats, such as what defines a clip versus a TV show versus a movie. Now, the video will fit into the consumer’s life and habits, and not the other way around.
This is why most Viu content has various lengths, including movies such as India’s High Jack; mini-series such as It Happened in Hong Kong and our Ramadan series in the Middle East; 30 to 50-minute run time shows, such as Indonesia’s the Publicist; and then there are What the Duck Googlies which are short form 3-5 minute clips from the very popular What the Duck series.
In conclusion
The OTT market is changing the ways content is created, desired, discovered, and consumed. We have a unique opportunity to spotlight amazing talent within our own regions, make dramatic content and localize shows from other regions, and experiment in ways that traditional ratings-driven television era never allowed.
And as the audience grows, and their expectations change, and more people use their access to find and share their voice, vision, and talent with the world, we look forward to being there to help give them a platform and an audience.
Everything changes so rapidly, but when you boil it all down, we’re giving more people more access to hear more voices tell more stories and I can’t wait to see them.
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Chromageddon is upon us! The world woke up today to a world of silent Chromecast and Google Home devices. What the heck is going on??? How do we fix it???
Updated @ 2018-07-01 :Google still refuses to tell us what caused Chromageddon. But let’s see what we can dig out about this debacle.
Updated @ 2018-06-28 :Google just reported they have a fix! We added details on what we need to do to restore the affected devices, and an update on a bad firmware being the cause of Chromageddon.
Originally posted @ 2018-06-27
Chromageddon – The Day Chromecast + Home Died Worldwide
Chromageddon took down Chromecast and Google Home devices worldwide sometime in the evening of 26 June 2018 (US Pacific Time). Since then, they have all refused to obey their masters’ commands.
Users of Google Home were greeted with the dreaded “There was a glitch. Try again in a few seconds.” response to every command. No matter how long and hard they cajoled their Google devices, they stayed silent.
They were all still alive, still connected to the network, but functionally nothing more than space-heating paperweights.
It took Google more than 12 hours to fix the problem after they realised Chromageddon was real. The real tragedy though was the complete lack of communication with their users.
Sure, Google responded to messages on Twitter, but even when people alerted them to the issue, it took more than 12 hours before they realised something truly bad was happening. Even then, they did not inform their other customers who are probably spending hours trying to troubleshoot their non-functioning devices.
Needless to say, other than informing those who reported issues when a fix was available, they steadfastly refused to tell us WHY Chromageddon happened. I suppose Google expects us to trust them to learn something from this debacle…
What Devices Are Currently Affected? Updated!
For most part, they are almost all Google Chromecast 2 and Google Home devices, but here is the full list of devices reported to be affected by Chromageddon :
Google Chromecast (1st Gen)
Google Chromecast (2nd Gen)
Google Home
Google Home mini
Surprisingly, both Google Chromecast Ultra or Chromecast Audio do not seem to be affected, although they are far less popular and their users have not yet realised the downtime.
How Do We Fix Chromecast + Home? Updated!
So far, all efforts to self-fix the problem have failed spectacularly :
Screaming futilely at the silent devices – Failed
Restarting Chromecast or Google Home – Failed
Rebooting the modem and/or router – Failed
Resetting Chromecast or Google Home to factory defaults – Failed
Asking Google tech support for help – Failed
Praying to the Google Gods – Failed
Although Google refuses to confirm, Chromageddon is most likely due to a problem with their servers. So when their servers have a hiccup, everything goes down. Google hinted at that with these tweets :
Our Engineering team is already on it. Hang in there — we’ll keep you updated.
There’s an ongoing issue with Chromecast and our team is already working on a fix ― we’ll keep you posted.
Our team is aware of this issue and working on a stable fix. Stay tuned.
At 6:18 AM (GMT+8) on the 28th of June, Google announced that they have a fix for Chromageddon that will automatically roll out over the next 6 hours. To get your Chromecast and Google Home running immediately, all you have to do is REBOOT them.
“We’ve identified a fix for the issue impacting Google Home users and it will be automatically rolled out over the next 6 hours. If you would like an immediate fix please follow the directions to reboot your device. If you’re still experiencing an issue after rebooting, contact us at Google Home Support. We are really sorry for the inconvenience and are taking steps to prevent this issue from happening in the future.
While there is a way to reboot your Google devices via the Google Home app, many people cannot actually get connected to the affected devices. So the simplest way to get them working again is to physically turn off power to those devices, and then turn them back on again.
Isn’t Chromageddon Due To A Firmware Update? Updated!
At first, everyone thought it might have been a firmware update that bricked the devices. Some even claimed that it only happened after their affected devices were updated.
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However, many of those who could still connect to their Chromecast reported that they were still on the 1.29.104827 production firmware. That firmware is several months old, or it’s not possible for it to suddenly act up globally.
Some have reported that their Chromecast is on the 1.30.113131 preview firmware. That is only possible if they had specifically opted to participate in the Google Preview Program. Even so, this preview firmware was released in sometime in April 2018.
When Google announced a fix, and that all we needed to do was to reboot our devices, it confirmed our deduction that it was a server-related issue on their end. We can safely confirm that Chromageddon was NOT due to any firmware update.
What Chromageddon Teaches Us
We all know that personal assistants like Google Home and Amazon Echo (Price Check) are always connected to cloud servers, and come with their fair share of privacy concerns. However, most of us are probably not aware that “dumb” video streaming devices like Chromecast connect to such servers as well.
Privacy concerns with devices “dialling home” are bad enough. Chromageddon is now proof of just how vulnerable such a system design can be, if these devices have to be connected to Google’s servers to even function.
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In a bid to self-regulate before their host countries start introducing a hodgepodge of different regulations, leading ASEAN video-on-demand services came together to introduce an ASEAN content code – the Subscription Video-on-Demand Industry Content Code. Let’s see what it’s all about!
The ASEAN Content Code for Video-On-Demand
Leading subscription video-on-demand services across ASEAN, including ASTRO, dimsum, Fox+, HOOQ, iflix, Netflix, tonton, TVB and The Walt Disney Company (Southeast Asia) have come together to announce the creation of a self-regulatory Subscription Video-on-Demand Industry Content Code to safeguard consumer interests.
The new ASEAN Content Code sets out principles to ensure that content offered on these participating platforms is authentic, free from hate speech, hate crimes, pornography, and other forms of inappropriate content. They also pledge their best efforts to provide consumer control features or other measures to ensure that content delivered is age-appropriate for relevant family members of the users in ASEAN.
“We share a mutual objective of putting consumer well-being at the heart of our services. This Code demonstrates our commitment to making sure that the consumer is able to make content viewing choices that are right for them and their families.”
This idea was first discussed at the ASEAN Telecom Regulators Council dialogue, held in Bangkok in September 2017. This forum brought together both regulators as well as industry in dialogue, to create pan-ASEAN solutions. Companies affirmed the value of this type of open dialogue and collaborative efforts towards addressing challenges.
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The new ASEAN Content Code has been welcomed and supported by CASBAA, a regional industry association. The Companies look forward to working with other players in the SVOD space in ASEAN under the principles in the new ASEAN Content Code which will also serve to distinguish legitimate services from pirate sites.
“When a consumer goes to a pirate site for content, not only do they undermine legitimate businesses, but there are no checks on the content which means minors can very easily be exposed to pornography or graphic violence,” said Louis Boswell, CEO of CASBAA.
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KUALA LUMPUR, June 21, 2018 – iflix today announced a ground-breaking content partnership with youth culture media company, Complex Networks (“Complex”), to create localised versions of world-class proven content formats. The all new original series will be showcased in a newly created premium, dedicated Complex branded channel, which will additionally showcase the network’s most popular global series, available to audiences on iflix’s platform for free.
iflix To Localise Signature Shows From Complex Networks
The partnership will see a significant expansion of the Company’s Original Content offering, affirming its focus on developing compelling, highly addictive and hyper-local programming. The new production slate includes Hot Ones, the viral interview show where celebrities eat increasingly hot wings while answering questions.
Hot Ones launches this fall in Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines. The localized format will feature a new familiar local host, and popular regional hot sauces will be added to the line-up alongside Hot One’s The Last Dab. iflix licensed formats include:
Hot Ones watch your favorite celebs laugh, cry, and divulge their deepest secrets while eating progressively spicier wings
Sneaker Shopping spotlights the styles, silhouettes and significance of sneaker culture through the eyes of bold-faced names in music, sports, film, television and pop culture.
Complex Closets goes inside the closets of the biggest pop culture figures today to talk about the shoes that define their style.
Don’t Believe the Hype tells you what’s hot and what’s just hot air. Sneakers, clothes, tech, food—nothing is safe.
Get Sweaty features the hottest celebrities getting fit in the coolest gyms.
Price the Hype is the ultimate game show for hypebeasts. Contestants compete head-to-head, proving their knowledge through trivia and challenges, with both money and sneakers on the line.
The collaboration with Complex underscores iflix’s growing focus on creating viral, snackable content specifically for Millennial and Gen Z generations, nearly 90 per cent of which come from emerging and developing markets in Southeast Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Bombarded with demands on their attention and stringent benchmarks for ‘the best of’ everything, this enormous and hugely influential audience segment leads the way in defining and shaping trends and innovation in media and culture. This latest content offering from iflix represents a significant step forward, combining world-leading formats, and best practices with cultural relevance and local flair.
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Quotes On The iflix – Complex Networks Partnership
iflix Group Chief Content Officer, Sean Carey, commented, “We are committed to delivering the very best in snackable and short form content to our subscribers, particularly the “now” generation, a growing force with significant influence on taste and trend. Raised through the convergence of the internet, mobile technology and social media, millennials and the youth generation are well-informed global citizens on the verge of decision-making roles and their prime spending years, inevitably carrying a high lifetime value. We’re thrilled to be working with Complex, a market-leader to meet this demand.”
iflix Global Head of Short Form, Craig Galvin, added, “We have an incredible opportunity to deliver a uniquely local product based on a truly international format with mass appeal. Complex Networks has set the standard for trend-exploring, culture-defining millennial media. We are thrilled to partner with them through our production house, Studio2:15, to experiment and play, break rules and create new content with, to ensure mobile-savvy, time-poor, and globally conscious iflix subscribers are catered to”.
“The interests and topics that fuel youth culture resonate globally with millennials and gen-z,” said Shawn Strickland, EVP Development, Distribution and Business Affairs. “This is an exciting opportunity to expand our programming with iflix, the emerging markets leader in entertainment, and develop versions of our programming that highlights the regional talent and passions.”
Complex Networks
Complex Networks currently produces over 30 daily and weekly series across its award-winning brands, available through YouTube, social channels, and a growing list of distributors including Verizon, Fuse, Facebook and MSG Network. Its flagship shows Sneaker Shopping and Hot Ones each have over 250 million lifetime views, and its newest series The Burger Show captured over 4 million views in its first month of launch.
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April 26, 2018 – iflix today announced the upcoming launch of iflix 3.0. Read all about what iflix 3.0 will introduce – new features like iflix FREE and Live Hub for live sports and events!
iflix 3.0 – Revamped with iflix FREE + Live Hub!
In a complete product evolution, the company moves away from the traditional Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) model to introduce the first-of-its kind, mass market platform specifically created for over one billion consumers in emerging markets. iflix 3.0 will introduce:
iflix FREE
iflix FREE will be a free tier with unique new features and content, allowing users to preview, explore and discover new content, including:
Movie of the Day – a fresh, new movie, curated daily.
Premium short-form content comprised of Originals, leading formats and programs from around the world, including:
QYou, Complex Media and great Korean series, with more to come very soon;
local programs from popular local content creators from around our regions;
original iflix content and localized formats, including the incredibly popular series Hot Ones and many others;
iflix snacks – new format designed specifically for the mobile-first audience.
All content will be produced and managed through the company’s recently announced short-form content studio, Studio2:15. The studio will produce an estimated 2,000 pieces of original short-form content by the end of the year, with 50 new pieces of content added to the site daily by June.
Premium regional and international TV series, many of which will be available exclusively on iflix, including The Grand Prince, My First Love, Pororo, Tayo the Little Bus, and more.
Promotional episodes and pilots from premium current and marquee TV series and films across key genres, including Dexter, Good Behaviour, Man vs Wild, Freakish, Expelled, Spongebob Squarepants and Korean smash-hit sensations Goblin, Descendants of the Sun, My Secret Romance, Legend of the Blue Sea, Bride of Habaek and many more.
iflix Originals – exclusive, premium original local content, including:
Some of iflix’s most popular and best performing series such as Indonesian teen romance, Magic Hour;
Upcoming action-packed series, KL Gangster: Underworld, spun off from the cult favourite Malaysian movie franchise;
Exit 49, an all-new horror movie starring the Philippines’ “Queen of Scream” Kris Aquino – slated for release later this year.
Raw and raunchy stand-up comedies, Oi! Jaga Mulut, and Jon Atherton: Disoriental;
Coconuts TV on iflix, a docu-series boldly exposing the underbelly of Asian subculture.
All content on iflix’s new free tier will be available to all users to enjoy, regardless of their subscription status. With over 5,000 assets available at launch, and on track for 10,000 on offer by year-end, iflix FREE offers users one of the largest libraries of curated, premium content, completely free of charge.
iflix Live Hub
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Live Hub will feature
Linear local free-to-air and pay TV channels across both free and paid tiers.
Live premium sporting competitions and events including Football Malaysia, cricket, World Cup, Olympics coverage, NBA action and much more.
Live premium events including local and regional concerts and competitions.
Advertising opportunities for premium brands
iflix will offer Advertising opportunities for premium brands through brand and product integration within original, local and regional content, premium video placements including pre-roll, native video content cards in app, as well as contextually targeted presenting partnerships.
Advertisers will now have the opportunity to engage with millions of users on iflix’s platform through unique, integrated, targeted, premium content and commercial partnerships.
If you like our work, you can help support our work by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
April 2, 2018 – iflix today announced the launch of Coconuts TV on iflix, a bold and edgy documentary series that spotlights Southeast Asia’s most weird and wondrous stories.
Coconuts TV On iflix
From today, anyone in Asia, with or without an active iflix subscription can stream and download all six episodes of the docu-series – for free and on any device. From the Miss Tiffany’s transgender beauty pageant in Pattaya to “midget boxing” in Manila, to the volcanoes of Bali and the skyscrapers of Kuala Lumpur, Coconuts TV on iflix takes an in depth, uncensored look at the most fascinating and undiscovered phenomena in Southeast Asia.
Coconuts TV Episodes (So Far)
Episode 1 : Sexy Time
Let’s talk about sex baby. Explore the many facets of how sex has shaped South East Asia’s modern culture, music, and society. Conventional, consensual, or condescending?
Episode 2 : Marginalized
True grit, survival, adaptation, & passion – the formula to cultivate greatness. Follow the rise of superstars from historically marginalized groups within society, exposing the difference between who we are and who we want to be.
Episode 3 : Needles ‘N Knives
Dive under the skin and into the depths of needle-sharing fisherman and unfold the deadly razor-sharp thrill of the famed balisong butterfly knife. Two different stories, two different kinds of highs.
Episode 4 : Animals And Us
Unveil spirituality, mindfulness, and healing with a legendary horse riding, kickboxing, drug-fighting monk. Then explore a volcanic active region where nature knows no kings nor gives no mercy to the wildlife around it.
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Episode 5 : Wheels Of Change
The only assurance in life is change. Follow the rise of gender equality in Malaysian motorsports and the demise of the iconic Filipino jeepney. Witness the evolution and how steadfast communities adapt to these fast times.
Episode 6 : Birds And Bugs
Has anyone told you about the birds and the… bugs? Access the underbelly of Asia’s fascination for cockfighting, songbirds, and the renaissance of mainstream insect-eating culture.
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YouTube just announced new YouTube Live streaming features, including new ways to watch live videos and interact with the community in real time!
In this article, YouTube shares with us the details of the new YouTube Live features. Check them out!
New YouTube Live Streaming Features
Catching up on the latest
Live chat plays a key role in creating connections between creators and their community. Today we are starting to roll out chat replay to YouTube, so you can follow the conversation even after a live stream is over. Live chat replays will show up alongside the video, exactly as it appeared live.
Making live streams more accessible
We launched automatic captions back in 2009, and since then, we’ve auto-captioned a staggering 1 billion videos. We’re now bringing English automatic captions to live streams.
When professionally provided captions aren’t available, our new live automatic captions provide creators a quick and inexpensive way to make live streams accessible to more people.
With our live automatic speech recognition (LASR) technology, you’ll get captions with error rates and latency approaching industry standards. We’ll roll this out in the coming weeks, and will continue to improve accuracy and latency of automatic captions.
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More fun features for live streamers
Creators can now add a location tag to their mobile live streams and video uploads and share all their favorite hot spots with viewers. You can explore other videos with the same location tag by simply clicking on it. You can also use the location filter on the search results page to find other videos from a specific spot.
Last year, we introduced a way for Super Chats to trigger real life events. Now creators can set this up for their channels using IFTTT (If This, Then That). Over 600 internet-connected services and devices (like lights, pet feeders and confetti cannons!) can be connected to Super Chat. Super Chat is already available on desktop and Android devices, with support for iOS devices rolling out starting today.
With live streams, you’ve found more intimate and spontaneous ways to share your thoughts, lives, and creativity. Take these features for a spin and show us your world!
If you like our work, you can help support our work by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
January 29, 2018 – iflix and Football Malaysia LLP are thrilled to announce their game-changing exclusive joint venture, in the most significant collaboration in Malaysian sports history. The unprecedented landmark partnership between Football Malaysia LLP and iflix aims to bring premier Malaysian football back to its millions of fans throughout the country.
Catch Premium Malaysian Football On iflix!
For the first time since the league was founded, football fans everywhere in Malaysia and beyond will be able to live stream every Liga Super, Piala Malaysia, and marquee Piala FA matches exclusively on the all new ‘Football Malaysia on iflix’ channel.
From February 3rd, football fans around the region will have virtual front row seats to the entire professional football season, including 22 rounds with six matches weekly for Liga Super, 74 Piala FA and Piala Malaysia tournament matches as well as select Liga Premier matches and the Piala Sumbangsih match. In addition to live streamed matches, users will also be able to access new features including match highlights and player interviews.
As a part of the companies’ joint mission to bring football back to the people, anyone with access to the internet will be able to live stream four Liga Super matches every week along with 46 tournament matches and select Liga Premier matches for free, regardless of their subscription status. New users and those with an active iflix subscription will further be able to live stream, catch up and enjoy all matches and features.
The Future Of Malaysian Football
Football is widely recognised as Malaysia’s most popular sport. With only seven million total households with televisions, only a small percentage of the population was able to enjoy the competition without physically attending matches. Football has been largely inaccessible to the majority of Malaysians.
This first-of its-kind joint venture between Football Malaysia LLP and iflix represents the future of sporting entertainment, putting fans first, bringing Malaysian football back to the people. Now, all 20 million smartphone owners and their friends and families in Malaysia, will have unlimited live access to premier Malaysian football for the first time ever.
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Football Association of Malaysia President and Football Malaysia LLP Chairman, the Crown Prince of Johor, Tunku Ismail ibni Sultan Ibrahim commented: “I am a firm believer and supporter of unity and moderation in our diverse nation. Football is the people’s game. It brings us together and can help to unite us. Malaysians everywhere should be able to enjoy it without restriction. With iflix, we have found likeminded partners and a key common goal; to return football to the people and restore its former glory.”
iflix Group Co-founder and Chairman, Patrick Grove said: “Over the last twenty years, I have founded several businesses here with the ambition of making the things Malaysians most want, more accessible and easier to find, from homes and cars, to news, culture and entertainment, and now Malaysians’ greatest love, football. This country has given me so much both on a personal and professional level. It’s our turn to give back.”
iflix and Football Malaysia will additionally create exciting new competitions and content expressly for football fans, including a series of entertainment and lifestyle original productions about and around the world of football for both broader audiences and hard-core fans alike.
If you like our work, you can help support our work by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
YouTube is preparing to cut off monetisation opportunities for small and budding video creators. Those who don’t make their new requirements by 20 February 2018, will be removed from their YouTube Partner Program.
The YouTube Partner Program allows video creators to earn some money off their work, by adding YouTube ads to their uploaded videos. They also earn money when YouTube Red subscribers watch their videos.
Not everyone can join the YouTube Partner Program. You have to meet their minimum requirements before you are allowed to start monetising the videos you upload to YouTube.
What Changed?
Back in April of 2017, YouTube set the eligibility requirement of 10,000 lifetime views. That means the videos in your channel must accumulate at least 10,000 views before you can start monetising them.
On 16 January 2018, they hiked up that eligibility requirement significantly, requiring your channel to have :
a minimum of 1,000 subscribers, and
at least 4,000 hours / 240,000 minutes watched in the previous 12 months
Those who are already in the YouTube Partner Program were given just 30 days to comply with those requirements, or get kicked off the program.
Racking up 4,000 hours or 240,000 minutes watched in the previous 12 months is not difficult. Even small-timers can hit that target, if they make good videos. They don’t have make many videos. They just have to make good videos that resonate with people.
The biggest problem creators will have is racking up 1,000 subscribers. It is arguably easy for those who focus on light, fun material… and difficult for those who choose weightier material. In other words – kitten videos will get more subscribers than videos on social issues and even technology.
The minimum subscriber requirement will likely push new and budding video creators to shift to mass appeal content (fake news, cat videos and pranks), and lower quality but more frequent content.
We’ve arrived at these new thresholds after thorough analysis and conversations with creators like you.
They will allow us to significantly improve our ability to identify creators who contribute positively to the community and help drive more ad revenue to them (and away from bad actors).
These higher standards will also help us prevent potentially inappropriate videos from monetizing which can hurt revenue for everyone.
Notwithstanding our opinions on the change, we find those reasons rather ludicrous :
We have no idea who YouTube was talking to, since we never received a survey to opine on the matter. They were probably only talking to their top creators.
We find their focus on identifying “creators who contribute positively to the community” ironic since they don’t seem to punish those who spread fake news, and some of their biggest stars (like Logan Paul) continue to get rich on YouTube by being assholes.
Subscription numbers and watch times are measures of POPULARITY, not QUALITY or VALUE to the community. That’s why Logan Paul has almost 16 million subscribers, while CNN only has just over 2.6 million subscribers.
YouTube : They’re Not Making Much Money Anyway
YouTube pointed out that “99% of those affected were making less than $100 per year in the last year, with 90% earning less than $2.50 in the last month“.
In our opinion, that is a perfectly legit reason. Why should YouTube spend resources serving ads to low traffic channels? Besides, it won’t matter much to them since they earn so little.
That is why we personally have no issues with YouTube’s new requirement of 4,000 watch hours. That’s similar to their previous requirement of 10,000 views, just set to a much higher level.
The Subscriber Requirement Is Unfair & Pointless
The only change we feel is grossly unfair to small and budding creators is the requirement to have 1,000 subscribers. This requirement penalises those who don’t have a prolific output, because people are less likely to subscribe to a channel with low frequency of updates.
Yet it doesn’t mean that these small or budding creators can’t create videos that appeal to many people, and get hundreds of thousands of views. Take, for example, this video on a LEGO Nexo Knights exhibition by The Rojak Pot.
There is no doubt that this video contributes “positively to the community“. It’s certainly not Blade Runner, but we do believe it’s a far more “positive” contribution to the community, than the crap Paul Logan serves to his 15+ million subscribers.
That video alone racked up over 3,100 watch hours and almost 150,000 views. If we posted just two of such videos, we would more than meet the minimum requirement for watch hours.
Yet The Rojak Pot’s YouTube channel has just 307 subscribers. That is nowhere close to meeting the new requirement for monetisation. In other words – all of their videos will cease to generate income, even if they rack up hundreds of thousands of views.
Our Personal Opinion
Personally, we think that a minimum requirement for VIEWS or WATCH HOURS is a good idea. YouTube should not have to spend resources on low-traffic channels.
The minimum requirement for SUBSCRIBERS, on the other hand, is not only unfair, it does not help them identify “creators who contribute positively to the community“.
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It only incentivises the community to focus on fluff and nonsensical but entertaining videos. Remember how Logan Paul has SIX TIMES as many subscribers as CNN?
If YouTube drops the subscriber requirement, they will free small and budding creators to focus on creating better videos. It will also allow them to focus on the community niches that interest them, rather than trying to appeal to as many people as possible.
YouTube should want a diverse range of creators focused on different niches, rather than a more homogenous group of creators making basically the same type of content – all designed for mass appeal.
If you like our work, you can help support our work by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
The YouTube Partner Program Changes
On January 16, 2018, we announced new eligibility requirements for the YouTube Partner Program. Previously, the requirement to join the YouTube Partner Program was 10,000 lifetime views. Now, once a channel reaches 4,000 watch hours in the previous 12 months and 1,000 subscribers it will be reviewed to join the program.
If your application is currently pending review
The new requirement applies to channels that are currently awaiting review to be in the YouTube Partner Program:
If you meet the new threshold, your pending application will be reviewed in the next few weeks.
If you do not yet meet the new threshold, your application will be reviewed once your channels reaches 4,000 watch hours in the previous 12 months and 1,000 subscribers (the new threshold).
If you’re currently part of the YouTube Partner Program
The new requirement applies to existing channels who are currently part of the YouTube Partner Program:
If your channel meets the threshold, you will remain in the YouTube Partner Program.
If your channel is below the threshold, you’ll have until February 20, 2018, before your channel is removed from the YouTube Partner Program. The YouTube Creator Academy has many tips on building your channel, such as how to make great original content and growing your audience.
If your channel reaches the new threshold by February 20, 2018, you will automatically stay in the program (you do not need to re-apply).
Additional Changes to the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) to Better Protect Creators
by Neal Mohan, Chief Product Officer and Robert Kyncl, Chief Business Officer
2017 marked a tough year for many of you, with several issues affecting our community and the revenue earned from advertising through the YouTube Partner Program (YPP). Despite those issues more creators than ever are earning a living on YouTube, with the number of channels making over six figures up over 40% year-over-year. In 2018, a major focus for everyone at YouTube is protecting our creator ecosystem and ensuring your revenue is more stable.
As Susan mentioned in December, we’re making changes to address the issues that affected our community in 2017 so we can prevent bad actors from harming the inspiring and original creators around the world who make their living on YouTube. A big part of that effort will be strengthening our requirements for monetization so spammers, impersonators, and other bad actors can’t hurt our ecosystem or take advantage of you, while continuing to reward those who make our platform great.
Back in April of 2017, we set a YPP eligibility requirement of 10,000 lifetime views. While that threshold provided more information to determine whether a channel followed our community guidelines and policies, it’s been clear over the last few months that we need a higher standard.
Starting today we’re changing the eligibility requirement for monetization to 4,000 hours of watchtime within the past 12 months and 1,000 subscribers. We’ve arrived at these new thresholds after thorough analysis and conversations with creators like you. They will allow us to significantly improve our ability to identify creators who contribute positively to the community and help drive more ad revenue to them (and away from bad actors). These higher standards will also help us prevent potentially inappropriate videos from monetizing which can hurt revenue for everyone.
On February 20th, 2018, we’ll also implement this threshold across existing channels on the platform, to allow for a 30 day grace period. On that date, channels with fewer than 1,000 subs or 4,000 watch hours will no longer be able to earn money on YouTube. When they reach 1,000 subs and 4,000 watch hours they will be automatically re-evaluated under strict criteria to ensure they comply with our policies. New channels will need to apply, and their application will be evaluated when they hit these milestones.
Though these changes will affect a significant number of channels, 99% of those affected were making less than $100 per year in the last year, with 90% earning less than $2.50 in the last month. Any of the channels who no longer meet this threshold will be paid what they’ve already earned based on our AdSense policies. After thoughtful consideration, we believe these are necessary compromises to protect our community.
Of course, size alone is not enough to determine whether a channel is suitable for monetization, so we’ll continue to use signals like community strikes, spam, and other abuse flags to ensure we’re protecting our creator community from bad actors. As we continue to protect our platform from abuse, we want to remind all of you to follow YouTube’s Community Guidelines, Monetization Basics & Policies, Terms of Service, and Google AdSense program policies, as violating any of these may lead to removal from the YouTube Partner Program.
While this change will tackle the potential abuse of a large but disparate group of smaller channels, we also know that the bad action of a single, large channel can also have an impact on the community and how advertisers view YouTube. We’ll be working to schedule conversations with our creators in the months ahead so we can hear your thoughts and ideas and what more we can do to tackle that challenge.
One of YouTube’s core values is to provide anyone the opportunity to earn money from a thriving channel, and while our policies will evolve over time, our commitment to that value remains. Those of you who want more details around this change, or haven’t yet reached this new 4,000 hour/1,000 subscriber threshold can continue to benefit from our Creator Academy, our Help Center, and all the resources on the Creator Site to grow your channels.
Even though 2017 was a challenging year, thanks to creators like you, it was full of the moments that make YouTube such a special place. Creators large and small, established and emerging, transformed their talent and originality into videos that captivated over a billion people around the world. They made us laugh, taught us about our world and warmed our hearts. We’re confident the steps we’re taking today will help protect and grow our inspiring community well into the future.
If you like our work, you can help support our work by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
You can now binge on Star Wars in iflix! Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi are now available to stream on iflix!
Catch Star Wars In iflix!
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iflix’s new Star Wars branded channel in app and at iflix will feature:
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones
Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi
Fans can also look forward to the premiere of Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens on iflix in 2018.
The May 25, 1977 theatrical debut of Star Wars (Episode IV A New Hope), which premiered on a scant 32 screens across America, changed the face of cinema forever. An instant classic and an unparalleled box office success, the rousing “space opera” was equal parts fairy tale, western, 1930s serial and special effects extravaganza, with roots in mythologies from cultures around the world. From the mind of visionary writer/director George Lucas, the epic space fantasy introduced the mystical Force into the cultural vocabulary and it continues to grow. Its lush universe ever-expanding through film, television, publishing, video games and more.
iflix Group Chief Content Officer, Sean Carey said: “Star Wars is the world’s most iconic and significant film series of all time. The incredible characters, worlds, and legends envisioned by George Lucas, have over the last 40 years and continues to today, excite, enthrall and inspire audiences of all ages and generations around the world. We are thrilled to share the Star Wars canon with fans in Southeast Asia. At iflix, we are committed to delivering the best entertainment experience, completely on the users’ terms. The addition of Star Wars to our extensive library is a testament to that promise.”
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Kuala Lumpur, 19 July 2017 – iflix is thrilled to announce it has secured highly anticipated upcoming K-drama, The Bride of Habaek for iflix members in Malaysia and Brunei. Starting today, new episodes will be available weekly every Thursday and Friday on iflix, within 72 hours of their television broadcast in Korea.
The Bride of Habaek
The Bride of Habaek is a South Korean television drama spin-off of the widely popular 2006 comic book series, Bride of the Water God by Yoon Mi-kyung. Directed by Kim Byung Soo and starring Korean heartthrobs Nam Joo-Hyuk, Shin Sae-Kyeong, Gong Myung and Krystal, the fantasy drama follows an unlikely romance between a human and a supernatural water god.
Habaek (Nam Joo-Hyuk) descends down to Earth to meet his human bride, So-Ah (Shin Sae Kyeong) – a neuropsychiatrist who sacrifices herself as a bride for the sake of her village. Set in modern Seoul, the highly anticipated K-drama reimagines fantasy elements from the original manhwa.
The Bride of Habaek joins iflix’s extensive library of popular and highly-acclaimed Korean drama, including Secret Garden, Goblin, The Legend of the Blue Sea, Scent of a Woman, Princess Hours, Prince Hours and many more, making iflix the premiere destination for the best of Korean entertainment.
Jason Monteiro, iflix Asia Marketing Director commented: “We are very excited to make Korea’s latest and most highly anticipated television drama, The Bride of Habaek available to our members in Malaysia, as the first K-drama fast tracked from South Korea! Now, K-drama fans can stay up to date with the latest K-drama craze, with new episodes uploaded on iflix weekly, just 72-hours after their television broadcast. We are committed to continue to bring only the best and most highly anticipated shows for our subscribers.”[adrotate group=”2″]
With more than 5 million members and 5 billion minutes streamed since launch, iflix has established itself as the clear market leader in video streaming. Now available to over one billion consumers across 18 territories throughout Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, iflix recently announced the establishment of iflix Africa, to make its world-class service available in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Offering consumers, a vast library of top Hollywood, Asian and Middle Eastern regional, and local TV shows and movies, including many first run exclusives and award-winning programs, each subscription allows users to access the service on up to five devices, including phones, laptops, tablets, and television sets, for viewing wherever, whenever.
If you like our work, you can help support our work by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
April 21, 2017 – iflix today unveiled its exciting new localized content plans with huge local content tent poles focusing on first-run local movies direct from cinema and a bold slate of original programming.
Following on increasing demand from audiences for more local films, iflix is working with the region’s best producers to bring subscribers their favourite local movies straight out of cinema to stream or download exclusively on iflix.
iflix Starts Introducing New Local Content For Southeast Asia
The company recently signed a first-look multi-year output deal with Skop Productions Group (Skop) and Viper Studios Sdn Bhd, Malaysia’s leading independent studio and creator of some of the country’s most iconic and successful box office hits, including Munafik, KL Gangster and Villa Nabila. The agreement will make many of the studio’s library classics available on iflix for the first time.
In addition, highly anticipated upcoming films will be exclusively available directly following their cinema release. iflix subscribers can look forward to big budget action spectacle, KL Special Force just 20 days after the film completes its cinema run. As part of the companies’ collaboration, iflix will also commission Skop to produce an exclusive new mini-series, to be announced.
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iflix has additionally greenlit a number of projects which underpin the company’s commitment to localization and homegrown talent, with the aim to create impactful, locally relevant content that has a familiar appeal, whilst lifting the bar on local free-to-air TV output.
The company is pleased to announce, that in partnership with Screenplay Productions, the studio behind iflix exclusive hit movies, I Love You from 38,000 feet and Promise, it has commissioned its first major original drama series, Magic Hour.
The eight-part romantic teen drama, will be a sequel to the 2015 box-office hit film of the same name – Indonesia’s fifth highest grossing film that year. The movie’s twin leads Dimas Angarra and Michelle Zuidith, two of the country’s hottest young stars will reprise their roles in the series. The project is a first, by both companies to spin off a movie franchise into a premium short-run exclusive miniseries.
Oi! Jaga Mulut
iflix has additionally commissioned edgy, no holds barred comedy series, Oi! Jaga Mulut (Malaysia) / Huy! Bibig Mo(Philippines) / Oi! Jaga Lambe(Indonesia). Roughly translated as “watch your mouth”, the audacious, new uncensored multi-territory stand-up comedy format will be filmed in front of a live studio audience in each country and published as its own local show.
The original eight-part series is a bold experiment showcasing the kind of humour previously only heard in comedy clubs, featuring both established and promising new trailblazers in the raw, rude and downright hilarious underground comedy scenes. The series will be hosted by comedic icons Haniff Hamzah in Malaysia, Ramon Bautista in the Philippines and Ananda Omesh in Indonesia.
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March 13, 2017 – iflix today announced the launch of its revolutionary service in Myanmar. Consumers can now sign up for a one-month free iflix Myanmar trial via iflix’s website, or by downloading the app to their phone or tablet from Google Play or the Apple App Store, giving them unlimited access to thousands of the world’s best TV shows, movies and more on every device they own, with no credit card required and no obligations.
iflix Myanmar Goes Live!
The announcement follows just one week after the iflix’s launch in Vietnam, solidifying iflix’s dominance over the Asian region with over 5 billion minutes streamed across ten countries since first launching in Malaysia and the Philippines in mid-2015.
As the first international SVoD service to establish full-scale operations in Myanmar, each iflix Myanmar subscription includes:
Unlimited access to iflix’s vast library of thousands of first-run exclusive shows, award-winning TV series, blockbuster movies, popular local and regional content, children’s programs and much more;
Access to iflix on up to 5 devices at once, including phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, TVs and other connected devices;
The ability to download TV shows and movies to any phone, tablet or mobile device to binge-watch offline, when not connected to the Internet;
The ability to share the iflix subscription with family or friends and watch shows on two different devices at the same time.
“As the fourth fastest-growing mobile market on earth, Myanmar is without question one of the world’s most exciting and dynamic countries and we are thrilled to introduce our first-of-its-kind service here. It is our aim to redefine how consumers in Myanmar enjoy entertainment with groundbreaking features and a seamless mobile streaming experience. From movies to TV shows and regional hits catering specifically to the lifestyles and interests of the local consumer, iflix has it all for an amazing price,” said Adeana Greenlee, Country Manager, iflix Myanmar.
Monthly retail subscriptions for one month of unlimited access to iflix Myanmar will be priced at an amazing 3,000 MMK. Annual subscriptions will receive a two-month discount off the monthly rate and are priced at an incredible 30,000 MMK per year.
Now Available In 10 Countries
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Now available in 10 markets across Southeast Asia, with recent launches in Pakistan, Vietnam and now Myanmar, iflix additionally announced its Joint Venture with Zain, iflix Arabia, to make its world class service available in the MENA region.
Offering consumers, a vast library of top Hollywood, Asian regional, and local TV shows and movies including many first run exclusives and award-winning programs, each subscription allows users to access the service on up to five devices, including phones, laptops, tablets, and television sets, for viewing wherever, whenever.
For new subscribers, iflix offers a complimentary one-month trial with full access to its service, features and content. Go to www.iflix.com to register.
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