US streaming service Max yesterday officially launched in Taiwan, becoming the third US-based streaming service available in the nation.
The streaming service was also simultaneously launched in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong.
The service was launched after Netflix and Disney+, which launched in Taiwan in 2016 and 2021 respectively, have recently adjusted their subscription fees.
Photo: CNA
People in Taiwan can choose between two Max subscriptions: a standard plan for NT$220 per month or an “ultimate” plan for NT$299 per month.
Both plans cost less than those offered by its two competitors.
“Max’s first direct launch in Asia-Pacific marks another major milestone in the worldwide expansion of Max... We look forward to delighting fans across the region with our iconic brands and franchises and are still early in our growth as we look forward to rolling Max out in many more markets in 2025 and 2026,” J.B. Perrette, CEO and president of global streaming and games at Warner Bros Discovery, said in an official statement.
Perrette yesterday told the Central News Agency that the company has just announced subscription plans and has no plans to change them in the short term, but adjusting them to reflect costs would be inevitable.
The most important thing is that viewers feel that the value they receive from watching the content far exceeds the monthly fees, Perrette said.
Jason Monteiro, senior vice president of Warner Bros Discovery’s streaming service in the Asia-Pacific region, said in an interview with Business Next last week that the company would not have landed in Taiwan if it had not thought the nation was a growing market.
“We are here for the long run, and there will definitely be Taiwan-made content,” Monteiro said, adding that original Max content created by Taiwanese writers and producers might be aired in the US and Europe.
A study conducted by Taipei-based Market Intelligence and Consulting Institute in May showed that 63 percent of the over-the-top market subscribers used Netflix, followed by YouTube with 41 percent and Disney+ with 38 percent.
The Taiwan Cultural Content Consumption Trend Survey Report published by Taiwan Creative Content Agency last year showed that on average, Taiwanese subscribed to 1.57 streaming platforms each.
The number was the same from 2019 to last year, with Netflix dominating the entire period.
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
South Korea is planning to revise its controversial electronic arrival card, a step Taiwanese officials said prompted them to hold off on planned retaliatory measures, a South Korean media report said yesterday. A Yonhap News Agency report said that the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs is planning to remove the “previous departure place” and “next destination” fields from its e-arrival card system. The plan, reached after interagency consultations, is under review and aims to simplify entry procedures and align the electronic form with the paper version, a South Korean ministry official said. The fields — which appeared only on the electronic form
RSS