In Nikkei Asia: Southeast Asia Should Work as One to Help Content Flourish Overseas
Southeast Asia is having a streaming moment. Subscribers are rising and Thai, Indonesian and Filipino titles are finding audiences abroad. In a new opinion piece for Nikkei Asia, Global Connects Media CEO Douglas Montgomery argues the region has to decide what it is building: a true export industry, or a well-funded domestic one.
Governments are already writing the checks — Thailand's THACCA doubles to $250 million in FY2027, Indonesia has created IP valuators so banks can price creative assets, Vietnam is targeting 7% of GDP from cultural industries by 2030. The money is arriving faster than the strategy.
The gap shows in the revenue. Southeast Asian shows and films generated $1.7 billion in global streaming subscriber revenue between 2020 and 2025, according to Parrot Analytics, but only 53% of that came from outside the region. South Korea earns 82% of its content revenue overseas.
Montgomery makes two recommendations: build the audience next door first, treating the region's 700 million people as a first market rather than an afterthought, and negotiate with global platforms as a bloc rather than country by country.
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