AIS resumes HBO partnership, offers affordable streaming via AIS Play app

Advanced Info Service (AIS) has renewed its collaboration with global content provider HBO, making content available to customers through the AIS Play mobile app and AIS Playbox set-top box platform at competitive rates.

Pratthana Leelapanang, Chief Consumer Business Officer at AIS, stated that the move aims to capitalise on the growing market for streaming services, encompassing both short-form and long-form content.

Leelapanang explained that the business ecosystem of streaming services, particularly long-form content such as films or series, has expanded due to AIS’s high-quality 5G network and the growth of AIS Fibre’s broadband internet subscriber base.

At present, AIS Fibre’s broadband Internet service has approximately 2.3 million household subscribers.

AIS initially offered HBO content through its mobile platform and AIS Playbox in 2017, but the partnership ended in February 2020 due to the service contract’s expiration. AIS has since entered into a new partnership agreement with Warner Bros, of which HBO is a subsidiary.

Warner Bros Discovery is a prominent global media and entertainment company with well-known brands and products, including HBO, HBO Max, Discovery Channel, CNN, DC, and Eurosport.

Leelapanang revealed that there are currently eight million active monthly users of the streaming service via AIS’s platforms, equating to around one billion views per month. The average time spent on all of AIS’s platforms is 318 minutes per user per day.

Out of the 8 million active monthly users, 1.1 million are classified as heavy daily streaming users. The prime time for AIS Play usage is between 7pm and 10pm.

AIS users spend an average of 70 minutes per user per day on the AIS Play mobile app and 402 minutes per user per day on the AIS Playbox.

Shonali Bedi, Warner Bros Discovery’s Head of Affiliate Distribution & Digital Partnerships for Southeast Asia & Hong Kong, said the expanded partnership builds on their successful collaboration with AIS. With the full range of HBO channels coming to AIS Play, Thai fans of premium entertainment will be in for a real treat, reported Bangkok Post. She said…

“Alongside our existing Warner Bros Discovery channel pack, the new HBO pack and the launch of HBO GO increase our brand footprint in Thailand – a key country for us in Southeast Asia – as we continue our growth trajectory in the region.”