Sky has taken a $45m (£32m) stake in streaming TV service iflix, an Asian rival of Netflix, in its first investment in the Asia Pacific region.
The move into Asia is somewhat surprising for Sky, which operates in the UK, Germany and Italy, and runs its own digital and on-demand services in Europe such as Now TV.
iflix, which was only founded in May last year, has about 1 million subscribers and is currently available in Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.
“Iflix has quickly established itself as southeast Asia’s most exciting and fastest-growing streaming TV service,” said Sky group chief financial officer Andrew Griffith. “There are lots of opportunities for Sky and iflix to work together and share expertise as both companies continue to expand.”
The company, which competes with local rivals such as Hooq, plans to aggressively expand within the region. Sky’s investment follows Netflix announcing a major global expansion in January to 130 countries, including the Asia Pacific region.
“As pioneers in the global broadcasting industry and true leaders in television and media, they share our passion for delivering market-leading content and services through innovation,” said iflix co-founder and group chief executive Mark Britt.
“Sky’s investment will further support our commitment to providing our members with the best in entertainment.”
