Interviewed By Sumaiya Siddique, MBR Team

MBR: With several new platform entering the local content streaming scene, how do you see this segment evolve going forward, especially competing with the foreign platforms, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hoichoi, etc.?

Navidul Huq: Nowadays there are a lot of attraction for online streaming platforms and now people seek entertainment through their personal devices: mobile, laptop, etc. Hence, we carry our source of entertainment in our pocket. The foreign platforms have a pool of global audience and our Bangladeshi streaming platforms have a strong base of native subscribers who seek Bangladeshi content. Actually, people prefer multiple subscriptions where they can enjoy different genre and all their preferences are fulfilled.

MBR: BongoBD uses the “Sachet Model”, how successfully has this model worked?

Navidul Huq: Actually, this sachet model is very popular both in our country and in South Asia. This model can also be found in different sectors as well. The reason this model is popular in our country is that the current low-middle income level of our nation make it more convenient for the people to subscribe with small subscription fees. Our philosophy is let people try with minimum subscription and enjoy the content.

MBR: How successful, do you think, think Bangladeshi online streaming platform has been abroad, especially amongst the expatriates, considering a higher competition over there?

Navidul Huq: To measure the success, we will need more time. At present, we have a strong subscriber base at Middle-East as we have many expatriates living there to earn livelihood, and they like our native content very much. Our content is also very popular in West Bengal and the reason is that we have the same native language: Bengali. In Europe and America, our content is yet to get exposure as they maintain a certain lifestyle where they still
prefer Netflix, Amazon etc. But we also believe that, as we grow, we will also have a strong viewer base in Europe and America.

MBR: What do you think will encourage people to start subscribing to this platform, as a majority of them still search up for free content?

Navidul Huq: Actually nothing is free. Even if we want to see a content on YouTube, we need internet connection, mobile data etc. Now some people do not want to pay any further and so, they prefer free content. We have ad supported free content where nothing needs to be paid but there will be few advertisements during the show.

Actually we follow the Premium Model where few contents are free but ad supported and there are some ad free contents which require subscription fees.
Our expectation is as market evolves, the purchasing capacity of people will increase and they will go for more subscribed contents, and so it depends on two things:
1. Understanding of the convenience
2. Affordability of the convenience.
As time goes, people will prefer more subscribed contents than free content.

MBR: Are any initiatives being taken to tackle the issue of piracy? How do you think the government can contribute to boost this sector?

Navidul Huq: Piracy is a big problem in almost every sector and in our case, if a content goes pirated, it hampers every entity associated with it. Only news coverage is not adequate, but we need proper law enforcement. So people who are associated with such act, need to be brought under proper trial and we need support from the respective authorities with this regard.