In Southeast Asia, a formidable new competitor has emerged for Netflix: China’s streaming giants. Platforms like iQiyi (often dubbed “China’s Netflix”) and Tencent’s WeTV are expanding aggressively across Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

• iQiyi’s growth strategy includes a hybrid model of free ad-supported streaming and budget-friendly subscriptions, which has helped it attract around 36 million monthly users in the region. Its Thailand library alone boasts over 9,000 titles, with more than 60% being Chinese productions.
• The platform is also investing heavily in local originals committing up to US $1.54 million per production and plans to release 4 to 6 Thai-language series annually, focusing on popular genres like ‘boys’ love’ and ‘girls’ love’ dramas.
• Meanwhile, Tencent’s WeTV is similarly tailoring content creation to regional tastes, further intensifying competition.

This targeted, culturally attuned approach allows Chinese platforms to outflank Netflix by diving deep into local preferences and pricing dynamics. For Netflix, this signals more than just another rival it’s a strategic shift in Asia’s streaming landscape, where content intimacy and local resonance are proving just as critical as global scale.