Lionsgate Play (LGP) and the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) have just marked a significant milestone as they celebrate the first anniversary of their successful partnership. Over the past year, this collaboration has seen the video-on-demand (VOD) platform build strong brand awareness and generate massive trial rates — the highest ever in PLDT history.
June 2022, wasn’t the easiest time to launch a VOD service. It was right after the pandemic, and many Filipinos had already gotten accustomed to other VOD services. Yet LGP stepped up to the challenge, differentiating itself quickly from the competition with its edgy, irreverent, and high-octane titles.
#PlayMoreBrowseLess
Though Lionsgate Studios owns a vast library of over 17,000 titles, they don’t overwhelm the audience with an excessive amount of releases. Instead, LGP curates a selection of content to captivate the audience, enabling their audience to #PlayMoreBrowseLess. To do so, LGP draws on the most exciting current releases with exclusive rights to premiere TV shows from LGP’s US parent network STARZ, as well as smash hits from the premium Lionsgate library. From time to time, LGP also secures Academy Award®-winning films from other studios.
“Since the grand launch of the partnership in June 2022, PLDT Home’s collaboration with Lionsgate Play has introduced a fresh wave of entertainment to its valued Filipino customers,” says Evert Miranda, PLDT Home Vice President and Digital Services Head of Product & Marketing (Beyond Access). “The partnership allowed customers to immerse themselves in a world of unlimited entertainment courtesy of Lionsgate Play’s wide array of international and award-winning content.”
Over the past year, the LGP audience gravitated towards LGP’s box-office titles, which include franchises like John Wick, Hunger Games, Twilight, and Saw. Bruce Willis’ new, never-before-seen movies like APEX and Corrective Measures were popular watches, as were unique, intriguing series like Spartacus, Power, Gaslit and The Serpent Queen.
LGP subscribers can continue to look forward to exclusive titles like the high-adrenaline, action-packed series like Heels, Gangs of London, Kandahar, and Gray; and new Lionsgate films like One Ranger and Fear the Night. LGP will also be exclusively live-streaming The Emmy Awards for the second year in a row, with seven of its titles receiving nominations.
The secret to LGP’s success
LGP’s partnership with PLDT was key to their success. PLDT took the bold step to give their subscribers 12 months of access to LGP. And because PLDT is lauded for being the country’s fastest fixed internet by Ookla, PLDT subscribers were able to enjoy LGP titles with fast, reliable internet.
“We have been the torchbearers in understanding that partnerships are essential in this market to grow subscribers,” says Amit Dhanuka, LGP Executive Vice President. “The growth is skewed towards the partnerships because they open up a larger funnel than what we would be able to get ourselves. These partnerships took time to evolve. So, we had a lot of customers come onto the platform earlier and they have stayed. Now, the partnerships are driving subscriber growth.”
“As we celebrate the anniversary of this successful partnership, we eagerly anticipate Lionsgate Play’s commitment to enriching the platform with an expanded selection of content,” adds Miranda. “With the introduction of paid subscriptions, we hope to witness the arrival of highly anticipated releases such as John Wick 4 and other upcoming masterpieces from Lionsgate and Starz. Our ultimate goal is to provide Filipino homes with the best of the best in entertainment.”