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Going native: iflix's Mark Britt on why company keeps everything local. Once you’ve spoken long enough to Mark Britt – co- founder and CEO of iflix – Asia’s purported answer to the Netflix age—there is a sense the cultural zeitgeist of the world is undergoing a significant sea change, with the nexus of that change coming from the world’s emerging markets.

In the years since the Internet revolutionized the way we consume content, cultural norms are still largely dictated by English- language, Anglo- Saxon perspectives. It’s that precise monopoly iflix is seeking to break by introducing the flavors and textures of individual markets into their subscription service, in the hopes of capitalizing on a thirst for local execution and representation. Catcha Group back in 2.

Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) service has emerged as one of the leading players in online entertainment content in Southeast Asia. The service is currently available in 1. Asia, the Middle East and Africa, with plans by the company to spread its particular cocktail of local and international offerings further and further afield. At the Catcha Group’s annual Wild Digital conference held recently in Kuala Lumpur, Tech Wire Asia had the opportunity to speak to Britt about the company’s decidedly local take on things, and why global companies just don’t seem to get emerging markets. Netflix, but Britt has insisted his company’s goal is not to serve as a counterweight to the American SVOD service but rather as a service with emerging markets on its mind. And the company is approaching this from all fronts – whether it’s by assessing the limits of a country’s Internet infrastructure, available payment mechanisms, or even the very pricing strategies they implement. SEE ALSO: Southeast Asia’s SVOD scene hotbed for competition and growth“I think the problem iflix has solved has been how to execute a business with world- class standards and local execution,” he said.“Once we realized we had to think differently about [each country], and put in place the business processes and the capabilities to execute locally, we’re quite comfortable whether it’s Sudan or Iraq or Kuwait or Thailand, because we have a business model that allows us to take a bottoms- up, local approach and customize further into local payment mechanisms, pricing, telco bundles and infrastructure to make it easy to buy.”Britt and his partner, Patrick Grove, founded iflix in order to bring quality content to emerging markets. Watch Last Holiday 4Shared.

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Source: iflix. Although Netflix sells their subscription packages for lower rates in emerging markets compared to North American prices, iflix’s cheap memberships keep the service competitive, and also displays a real awareness about the lifestyles of those living this side of the world. The same goes for its highly localized and culturally- aware content library.“The markets we’re passionate about are the ones that large companies traditionally don’t care about,” Britt said.“I think the recipe for success is not high priced premium products. Watch Going The Distance Tube Free there.

It’s mass- market, low- cost high volume, where you can create an enormous amount of value.”From our conversation, one surmises that for Britt, the technology of the future is in a constant discourse with monopolies of every sort, whether it’s Netflix’s brand prominence in the streaming industry, or the not- inconsiderable influence paid television models still wield over entertainment content. This might be especially true in markets like Malaysia, where brands such as Astro retain 6. You’re reaching an enormous amount of people who historically have not had access to content because they couldn’t afford paid TV,” he said. For Britt, the act of creating services that are culturally aware of their place in the world is itself a radical act of disruption, perhaps even of social justice, even though the company is definitely focused on its commercial bottom line. For consumers in emerging markets, the cost of paid television and the lack of proper infrastructure were the true obstacles in the company’s way.“Before you can even think about content, that’s the actual use- case scenario you’ve got to solve for.” – Britt“It’s actually funny to see the large global players in a competitive battle to get to 4. K and HD video,” he said.

But all of iflix’s work is [figuring out how to] get 1. G connection, and working to bundle it with an off- peak data plan.”The true magic of iflix has been its ability to perceive their audiences in emerging markets as culturally complex and textured locales. The company has made its name by introducing a highly market- specific content libraries meticulously curated to address both the local tastes and more unusual, but popular, flavors. For instance, Indonesia has seen a burgeoning preference for South Korean dramas, a relatively new phenomenon iflix has capitalized on by introducing a back catalogue of popular shows. On the other hand, animes like the successful Attack on Titan, which would otherwise have been ignored by Malaysian players such as Media Prima, found a passionate digital audience via the platform.“There are entire segments and categories like horror that have not been traditionally well- served but have very passionate digital audiences,” Britt said.“The challenge paid television and free- to- air do not do particularly well is they do not allow you to find more of what you are passionate about, and that’s the beauty of digital.

It puts you in control to go find more of what you love.”Britt and his team broke not only the monopoly paid- TV operators had over what content got distributed, but also what kind of content got air time. He also noted the localization problem was largely a product of fortunate happenstance. The founders had always known their libraries would have to be more diverse, but they “massively underestimated” how much non- English content could scale.“What we quickly discovered is that the scale of the market for English- speaking content is actually quite small in most emerging markets,” he said. SEE ALSO: Netflix confirms deal with Baidu- backed i. Qiyi in China breakthrough. Watch Deal Online Hoyts. Rather, by considering factors such as subtitles and sensitive content, the company was able to capitalize on a thirst for entertainment that accurately reflected each audience’s cultural norms.

That goes not only for the lingua franca of any one market, but also the censorship standards imposed by each country.“Two things are simultaneously true: the Internet is a wonderful liberalizing force for human rights and free speech and democracy, but communities and governments must also have a right to set their own community standards,” Britt said.“In a media company, if you start with that perspective it’s a much more constructive conversation than if you’re a global business who… has an expectation all the world should follow your cultural standards.”iflix is now available in 1. Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Source: iflix. The global cultural hegemony, rooted in Anglo- Saxon perspectives, is another kind of monopoly that companies like iflix are seeking to break. Western companies have experienced a bitter backlash in Asia, particularly technology companies such as Amazon and Uber that have been rebuffed by local players such as Lazada and Grab, while huge companies such as Paytm and Alibaba continue to dominate China and India.