Mark Francis, a seasoned television and streaming industry professional with two decades of experience, has assumed the roles of Chief Content Officer and Strategy Officer at Indonesia’s Vidio streaming platform. The appointment aligns with Vidio surpassing the 4 million subscriber milestone and reclaiming a leading position in the competitive Indonesian streaming market.
Situated in Jakarta and reporting directly to CEO Sutanto Harton, Francis is tasked with supervising the content strategy and programming of the freemium streaming service. This includes overseeing premium live sports broadcasts such as the Premier League, BRI Liga 1, and a diverse array of international and local sports, in addition to expanding the catalog of scripted original series.
Mark Francis boasts an extensive background as a senior content executive and executive producer for prominent entities like Discovery, Fox International Channels, National Geographic Channels, the now-defunct Asian streamer iflix, and Astro Malaysia’s streamer sooka, which he played a pivotal role in launching in 2021. Previously, he served as the Group Lead of Original Productions at Warner Bros. Discovery, overseeing HBO Go’s premium scripted and non-scripted originals across markets like Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Taiwan.
Vidio, anticipating an announcement in early 2024 regarding an enhanced lineup of original content, is gearing up to release additional seasons of successful series like “Pertaruhan The Series” Season 2 and multiple installments of popular young adult franchises and broadly appealing comedy series.
In the wake of a temporary decline in Q2 2023, the Indonesian SVOD market has rebounded, fueled by sustained demand for sports, local, and Korean content. Vidio, spearheading category growth in Q4 2023, is projected to experience rapid expansion in 2024, with an anticipated addition of 1.3 – 1.4 million new subscribers to the overall category. According to Vivek Couto, CEO of consultancy firm Media Partners Asia, Vidio has secured its position as the leading OTT platform in Indonesia, outpacing global and regional competitors like Netflix, Viu, and Disney+ Hotstar, and boasting over 4 million paying subscribers.
Vidio’s commitment to investing significantly in local content is identified as a key driver for its future growth. CEO Hartono expressed the hope that this commitment would contribute to the flourishing of the Indonesian content industry, potentially paving the way for international market penetration. Despite Indonesia’s immense potential, Media Partners Asia notes that the country’s total paying streaming subscribers, as of the third quarter, stand at 21 million, constituting less than 10% of its vast 270 million population.
