The rapid competition gripping the Australian IPTV market has pushed one of the industry’s local pioneers to diversify with expansion into China. Quickflix, one of the earliest providers of streaming video in Australia announced that it is poised to acquire an as yet unnamed Chinese film and TV company to form a global streaming platform for Chinese content.
Quickflix has been struggling financially and has felt the effect of sudden competition, merging with the Chinese entity may give the IPTV company a lifeline.
"Combining the Quickflix platform, with original content and accessing large global audiences represents a significant opportunity to unlock the value of Quickflix," the company said in a statement.
The mystery Shanghai-based company produces original content for Chinese and international markets and it also has a deal with a US studio to co-produce content, according to Quickflix.
The deal which is currently at MoU stage, remains subject to further due diligence and regulatory approvals. Quickflix said it would provide an update to the market by August 20.
Quickflix made a loss of $8.6 million in the first half of the 2015 financial year and attributed a significant drop in its subscription base to the entry of Netflix into the Australian market. Quickflix’s total number of customers dropped 14% to 121,127 over the last quarter.
Quickflix also revealed that it had lost a deal to provide its customers with the Foxtel and Seven joint venture Presto.
"Consolidation with Quickflix would result in the combined entity having a significantly improved financial outlook and ability to access further capital for growth," the company added.
CombiTel
Specialist IPTV systems integrator focusing on service providers and enterprises. CombiTel offers unmatched value to its clients based on its unique mix of skills and many years of experience in both Telecommunications and Broadcasting. We have a proven track record and happy customers in Australia and New Zealand.
More information: combitel.com.my