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| Type of business | Prev. Joint venture Curr. private company |
|---|---|
Type of site | Prev. OTT platform Curr. OTT meta search platform |
| Available in | English, Thai, Indonesian |
| Founded | 30 January 2015; 9 years ago (2015-01-30) |
| Predecessor(s) |
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| Successor(s) | |
| Headquarters | |
| Area served |
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| Key people | Prev. Peter Bithos (CEO) Curr. Jay Bae (CEO) |
| Products | Video streaming |
| URL | https://hooq.tv |
| Current status | Online |
Hooq (stylised in all caps, pronounced like hook) was a Singaporean video on demand streaming service. It was a joint-venture of Singtel, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros., with presence in the Philippines, Thailand, India, Indonesia, and Singapore. Hooq was valued at $420 million dollars.[1] Hooq filed for liquidation on 27 March 2020, and shut down on 30 April 2020. Its assets were acquired by Coupang.
Hooq was a joint-venture of Singtel, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros., established on 30 January 2015, when the presence of Netflix in Asia was still limited.[1] An online streaming video platform, Hooq would be able to capitalise on Singtel's reach and distribution to deliver Hollywood movies, television series, as well as local programming to Asian markets.[1] Hooq also produced original content to attract subscribers,[2] starting with a mini-series based on the multi-award-winning movie, On the Job which revolves around a hard-hitting topic in Philippine society.[3]
The platform was progressively launched in the Philippines, Thailand, India, Indonesia, and Singapore over 2015 and 2016.[1][2][4] The content on the platform was accessed with a monthly or yearly subscription fee.[5]
Hooq was named Best Mobile App in the Media, Film, TV or Video category at the GSMA's Global Mobile (GLOMO) Awards 2016 in Barcelona.[6]
Due to its fast growing, but loss-making status in Singtel's portfolio, an initial public offering was considered for value realisation in 2019.[7] However, on 27 March 2020, Hooq filed for liquidation, citing "significant structural changes" that had occurred in the over-the-top (OTT) video market and its competitive landscape.[8] Its global headcount of 240 staff was affected and laid off during this liquidation process.[9] Hooq shut down on 30 April 2020.[10][11]
Singtel owned 65 percent of Hooq's shares, while Sony Pictures and Warner Bros. each owned 17.5 percent.[1] The share structure remained unchanged when it raised an additional US$25,000,000 in 2017.[2] On 27 March 2020, when announced its plans for liquidation, it was revealed that Singtel has an indirect control of 76.5 percent of the company.[12]
In July 2020, South Korean e-commerce company Coupang acquired Hooq's software assets, which are being used as the basis of its own service Coupang Play.[13][14]
In early 2024, South Korean search engine marketing company Hedley Digital acquired Hooq's digital assets and transformed it into OTT meta search platform form.[15]
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