OTT video streaming services in Thailand: how do platforms compare in popularity vs satisfaction?

October marked the 100th anniversary of the Walt Disney Company. Founded by brothers Walter Elias Disney and Roy Oliver Disney as an animation studio in Hollywood, Disney is today a multinational entertainment behemoth with its own theme parks, cruise liners, computer games and streaming service.

The conglomerate entered Thailand’s OTT streaming market in June 2021 with the launch of Disney Plus HotStar (Disney+ Hotstar) – a video on-demand subscription service for films and TV shows from Disney, Marvel, Pixar, LucasFilm and National Geographic. Disney+ Hotstar content is also available on local streaming platform AIS Play.

Two years on, how popular is Disney+ in Thailand compared to rival platforms Netflix and TrueID – and which video streaming service has the most satisfied subscribers? Additionally, what are the top factors deterring prospective OTT subscribers in Thailand from signing up today?

Which video streaming platforms are most popular among Thai consumers in 2023?

Latest data from YouGov Profiles reveals that US-based Netflix is the most popular video streaming service in Thailand today: more than one in three (35%) consumers are subscribers.

TrueID, the most subscribed local OTT provider, is second most popular overall with over a fifth (21%) of consumers currently subscribed.

Disney+ Hotstar is the third most popular video streaming platform, with more than one in ten (13%) consumers indicating they are subscribers – ahead of Chinese streaming providers Viu (11%), WeTV (11%), iQIYI (10%) and the second most popular local streaming platform AIS play (7%).

Meanwhile, less than one in twenty Thai consumers are currently subscribed to Amazon Prime Video (4%) or Apple TV+ (3%).

Which video streaming platforms in Thailand enjoy the highest subscriber satisfaction levels?

Netflix (88%) and WeTV (81%) boast the highest consumer satisfaction, with over four in five subscribers identifying as satisfied customers.

At least three in four subscribers with iQIYI (78%), Amazon Prime Video (78%), Disney+ Hotstar (76%) and Viu (75%) are contented customers – making them the platforms with the next highest satisfaction rates.

Finally, a relatively lower – but still very respectable – proportion of subscribers with Apple TV+ (74%), TrueID (71%) and AIS play (69%) say they are satisfied customers.

What are the top factors deterring Thai consumers who are considering an OTT subscription from signing up?

Close to one-third of consumers who are not currently customers of any streaming platform – but are considering a subscription with Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Stan, Paramount+, Apple TV+, Foxtel Now – cite not being TV watchers (32%) as the main reason deterring them from signing up so far, ahead of high subscription costs (27%).

The next most common factors, following at a distance, include difficulty finding what to watch on streaming platforms (6%), poor/no internet connection (4%) and poor viewing quality/experience (3%).

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Methodology: YouGov Profiles is based on continuously collected data and rolling surveys, rather than from a single limited questionnaire. Profiles data for Australia is nationally representative of all adults (18 years or older), and weighted by age, gender, and region, and reflect the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) population estimates. Profiles data for Singapore is nationally representative of all adults (18 years or older), weighted by age, gender, and ethnicity, and reflect the latest Singapore Department of Statistics (DOS) estimates. Profiles data for Thailand is representative of the adult online population (18 years or older), and weighted by gender, age, region and monthly household income, and reflect the latest National Statistical Office of Thailand (NSO) population estimates. Learn more about Profiles.

_{Cover Photo by Kindamorphic}