Ideosource Injects Funds into GoPlay to Compete with Netflix

PT NFC Indonesia Tbk (NFCX) through its subsidiary, Ideosource Entertainment, is involved in the first independent funding for Gojek’s subsidiary, GoPlay’s on-demand video platform. The action made NFC, which is part of the Kresna Group, increasingly expanding its business network to the entertainment content market.

In funding for GoPlay, Ideosource Entertainment was included in the list with other well-known investors such as ZWC Partners, Golden Gate Ventures, Openspace Ventures, and Redbadge Pacific. Official funding was carried out on June 8, 2020.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ideosource Entertainment Andi Boediman said the Indonesian content market had great potential to reach a market value of US $ 1 billion in the next three years. This mainly comes from theatrical release and streaming services.

“Demand for entertainment, especially content, continues to grow despite the Covid-19 pandemic, where people are encouraged to remain at home and conduct physical distancing,” he explained in an official statement on Tuesday (9/6).

Pandemics Change People’s Consumption

Andi added, the pandemic has changed the way people consume products and services, including content. Therefore, one of the channels for content distribution, for example, GoPlay, has attracted a lot of public attention.

This proves the content industry still has a very strong growth rate even in the worst conditions. He said GoPlay had attracted a lot of public attention because of the ease and convenience of enjoying content through the VoD platform. His company was also interested in funding GoPlay.

Funding in the world of content, especially films is quite risky. So far, the company runs a risk management strategy by investing in 15 films from several production houses at once.

According to Andi, intellectual property can come from local markets such as the Cemara Family and internationally such as the Free film that adapts the Sunny film from South Korea. Currently, Ideosource is collaborating with one of its subsidiaries, Paragon Pictures to develop and produce content from some of Indonesia’s legendary IPs.

Some films which have been funded have had successes such as the Cemara Family and Gundala which reached 1.7 million viewers. On the other hand, GoPlay announced the closing of its first independent funding round on Monday (8/6).

Funding also came from 4 Other Investors

Besides Ideosource, the funding also came from Golden Gate Ventures, ZWC Partners, Openspace Ventures, and Redbadge Pacific. GoPlay CEO Edy Sulistyo said the independent fundraising demonstrated investor confidence in the on-demand entertainment industry in Indonesia.

Also, it reflects the enormous business potential of the creators of the country’s content. Therefore, the company focuses on improving GoPlay technology. “We are working hard on developing technology and perfecting GoPlay features over the past year,” Edi was quoted as saying in a press release on Monday (8/6).

The company also wants to embrace more partners who have deep expertise in the industry. It aims to spur GoPlay business growth. “By combining the resources, expertise of partners, and track record of Gojek in Indonesia, GoPlay is in the right position to be able to continue to support and grow the creative industries,” Edi said.

“We can’t wait to see the cooperation that will be built by one of our subsidiaries, Ideosource Entertainment, with GoPlay, which will certainly be an important step in enriching the company’s customer engagement platform even further,” he explained.

For information, besides Paragon Pictures which is a production house, Ideosource also has subsidiary marketing agencies, namely Ideoworks and Cinepoint, which are big data and ranking applications for film viewers in Indonesia.

Moreover, demand for entertainment especially films during the Covid-19 pandemic continues to grow. “The pandemic situation has changed the way people consume products and services, including content,” Andi said in a press release on Wednesday (6/10).