Viva Entertainment’s Vic del Rosario had a vision. He wanted Filipinos anywhere in the world enjoy locally made entertainment anytime. He wanted to have a massive library of local titles, a one-stop entertainment hub, which consumers can access as easily as lifting a finger. Thus, Vivamax was born in January this year.
The presence of global streaming platforms and local broadcast and telecommunication giants did not deter Viva’s head honcho from pursuing this dream.
Seven months later, Viva is proud to share that Vivamax is on its way to becoming an essential part of every Pinoy’s entertainment fix.
In a recent virtual conference, Viva announced that to date there are 600,000 Vivamax subscribers and within this short period of time, it is now the most downloaded entertainment app on Google Play, outdoing other long established local and international streaming brands.
“We have developed an entertainment platform that’s easy to be appreciated by everyone. I guess it’s the uniqueness the offerings between the originals, the Tagalized content, and the concerts that makes people like the platform,” Vincent G. Del Rosario, President and COO of Viva Comm., Inc., told Manila Standard Entertainment.
“It’s the novelty that attracts them. We also the renewals, some users keep on coming back after a month or two to renew their subscription. I think we did something good,” Del Rosario added.
Starting with over 500 titles, with a mix of Filipino content, Tagalized Hollywood and Asian content (including the biggest offering of Korean blockbuster films), Vivamax continues with its commitment to add at least 15 new content every week — a combination of originals, premieres, exclusives, and all-time favorites.
“The product is not the technology. The service given by Viva is the content. And you look at the content and the way it is promoted by the marketing department, the way it’s done on digital platforms, is very entertaining. The service we deliver is that entertaining and it’s on an app. The secret of Vivamax is the content, not the technology. It’s the content and the way Viva looks at communicating the entertainment value and authenticity of that content,” Ronan K. De Guzman, Chief Operating officer of Vivamax, shared.
Guzman also said that Vivamax had developed a relationship with its subscribers based on goodwill.
“We don’t lock the subscribers in. And that, we believe, has developed some goodwill. And as this goodwill develops, we also develop our product, our technology, and our pricing,” De Guzman added.
Priced at P149 per month, with TV casting on Smart TV via Chromecast or Apple AirPlay, subscribers are given access to originally-produced series, movies, documentaries, and concerts.
Currently in various stages of production are films and series that will star Anne Curtis, Sarah Geronimo, Aga Muhlach, Bela Padilla, Cristine Reyes, Empoy, Alessandra, Julia Barretto, Toni Gonzaga, Alex Gonzaga, Matteo Guidicelli, John Arcilla, JC Santos, Xian Lim, Andew E, Diego Loyzaga, Barbie Imperial, Carlo Aquino, JM de Guzman, Sue Ramirez, McCoy de Leon and Elise Joson, and many others.
The pandemic has not stopped Viva from actively producing content. It is still the busiest studio in the country working with some of the most bankable directors, creative stalwarts, and prolific showrunners in the industry such as — Erik Matti, Jason Paul Laxamana, Paul Soriano, Irene Villamor, Mikhail and Jon Red, Yam Laranas, Pedring Lopez, Darryl Yap, RC delos Reyes, Lawrence Fajardo, Joel Lamangan, Roman Perez, GB Sampedro, Al Tantay, Prime Cruz, Dan Villegas, Antoinette Jadaone, Ricky Lee, Paul Basinillo, Paolo Valenciano, and many others.
Also in place are several production and licensing deals with other top studios – Star Cinema, Regal, IdeaFirst, Project 8, Reality, Black Cap Pictures, BlackOps Asia, TBA, Cignal Entertainment, Brillante Mendoza’s Centerstage Productions, The Probe Team, etc. to deliver diversified shows that will appeal to various audience tastes.
Now available in Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Middle East, and Europe with plans to roll out in Australia, New Zealand, and North America in the next few months, Vivamax is truly a global brand.
