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Numerous international TV channels have gradually exited the Southeast Asian pay television market, including Vietnam. |
Change in business strategy
In October and November 2023, a number of international television channels popular with Vietnamese viewers disappeared from pay television service packages, such as science, discovery, and nature channels National Geographic and Nat Geo Wild. The Baby TV animation channel also stopped broadcasting in Vietnam. All these three channels belong to the Walt Disney Company Southeast Asia and were distributed in Vietnam through MSky Company on many pay television services, including FPT Play, TV360, ClipTV, and VTC. In November 2023, Amazon Prime also stopped providing video services in Vietnam.
Previously, 12 television channels owned by Disney Networks Group Asia Pacific Limited, consisting of Fox Movies, Fox Sports, Disney Channel, and Disney Junior, and two channels owned by Buena Vista International Inc. (BVII) halted broadcasting in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam.
Expressing concern, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Thanh Lam said that several international film and entertainment companies, including Disney, believe that the future lies with video-on-demand services rather than traditional television. Since launching Disney Plus, Disney has invested heavily in the platform, with the message at the launch event being "Goodbye cable TV."
Disney Plus is not currently available in Vietnam. Amazon Prime and other services are available in the country, but they comply with Article 21 of the Cinema Law on the dissemination of films in cyberspace. These services have removed non-film programs from their platforms to avoid having to comply with Cinema Law and broadcasting regulations at the same time. It is just a change in operations, and Amazon Prime still provides services in Vietnam.
Preventing illegal websites from running rampant
Although international television channels are withdrawing from the Vietnamese pay-TV market due to a change in business strategy, the Ministry of Information and Communications is concerned that this will create an opportunity for illegal websites to run rampant. As the demand for watching sports, movies, music, and other content remains high, these websites could violate copyright and earn illegal profits.
According to Ms. Pham Thanh Thuy, Head of the Anti-piracy Department of Vietnam Satellite Digital Television Company Limited (VSTV/K+), Similar Web data shows that Vietnam has over 200 pirated football websites with 1.5 billion visits in 2022 and 200 pirated movie websites with 120 million views per month. Thuy also noted that 75 percent of pirated football websites have malicious ads, and 97 percent of those ads contain harmful content such as betting, viruses, adult content, and scams.
Ms. To Nam Phuong, Head of the Foreign Relations Department at FPT Telecommunications Joint Stock Company, said the company holds the copyright to broadcast UEFA Champions League (C1) football matches. However, FPT Telecommunications' broadcast of a football match in the middle of the night only attracts several hundred thousand viewers. Meanwhile, a pirated YouTube channel can attract up to 1 million viewers.
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Many Vietnamese families entertain themselves with international television programs. |
Pirated websites are changing IP addresses and domain names quickly, making it difficult to block them, said Le Quang Tu Do, Director of the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information (ABEI). "This is an extremely tough battle," he said.
The most blatant violator is Xoi Lac TV, which has 20 different domains. In the recent match between Chelsea and Liverpool in the Premier League, Xoi Lac TV’s websites had up to 140,000 views.
Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Thanh Lam announced that the Ministry agreed on the formation of a specialized team on copyright issues in collaboration with the Ministries of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and Public Security. He noted that copyright infringement is often associated with organized crime, as evidenced by the recent Xoi Lac TV case. The channel went beyond simply live-streaming content online and was also involved in online fraud, online gambling, and loan sharking for football betting.
Telecommunications carriers should also join the team to help track infringements using testing, scanning, and other detection methods. The team will also work to educate the public about copyright infringement and encourage them to avoid watching infringing programs.
According to the Ministry of Information and Communications, Vietnam had 18.7 million pay television subscribers in October 2023, up 12.3 percent from the same period in 2022. Pay television revenue for the third quarter of 2023 was VND7.5 trillion, up 1.4 percent from the same period in 2022.
Amid the withdrawal of many international television channels from the pay television market in Vietnam, the Ministry of Information and Communications has directed the ABEI to review and recommend pay television providers to report on plans to safeguard customer interests.
On the positive side, the withdrawal of international television channels presents an opportunity for domestic channels to gain more customers. However, if people continue to support pirated websites, businesses providing official services may no longer purchase copyrighted content at high costs, as they have done in the past. This would ultimately disadvantage consumers.
