Sony- & Warner Bros-Backed Streamer Hooq Collapses

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Hooq, the subscription streaming service operated by Sony Pictures Television, Warner Bros and Singapore’s Singtel, has filed for voluntary liquidation.

In a statement Friday, Singtel said it has “commenced a creditors’ voluntary liquidation” of the company, in which it has a controlling stake of 76.5%. It added: “The liquidation of Hooq is not expected to have any material impact on the net tangible assets or earnings per share of Singtel.”

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Hooq launched in 2015 and operated in Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, India and the Philippines. It hosted 10,000 movies and TV series, including The Flash and had amassed 80 million users.

“Global and local content providers are increasingly going direct, the cost of content remains high, and emerging-market consumers’ willingness to pay has increased only gradually amid an increasing array of choices,” Hooq said in a statement sent to TechCrunch.

“Because of these changes, a viable business model for an independent, OTT distribution platform has become increasingly challenged. As a result, Hooq has not been able to grow sufficiently to provide sustainable returns nor cover escalating content costs and the continuous operating costs of an independent OTT distribution platform.”

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