Lionsgate Play poised to increase Philippine subscribers base

While most companies were severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in their operations and business, Lionsgate Play premium streaming service registered a significant growth instead.

“I certainly think the stage Lionsgate is in, we will double our subscribers base year on year,” revealed Lionsgate Play executive vice president Amit Dhanuka. “There’s so much content that we constantly put on the platform. We’re treating the engagement itself very, very healthy.”

Cecile Marino is general manager in the Philippines for Lionsgate Play. She is in charge of building partnerships for Lionsgate.

“Essentially, we’re a streaming service, so the lowest hanging fruit there is the broadband,” Cecile explained. “That’s the one that is needed by the audience for them to watch is the broadband, then after that will be the mobile.”

“Those are the essentials where the audience can view. You need Internet so the audience can watch. As we grow it, it can also be payments — banks, E-platforms, Pay Maya — that can make it easier and bigger for the audience as we move along,” she continued.

“We prioritize the ones that will allow our audience to watch it better. So in the first year, we have PLDT Broadband that makes the experience of viewing our stories really good. The last thing that you want is what you’re watching stops and hangs.”

Streaming on Lionsgate Play is the period drama Manhattan Season 1 and 2, a fictionalized retelling of the events surrounding the Manhattan Project. The gripping drama is set in Los Alamos, New Mexico during the height of World War II and follows the brilliant yet flawed scientists and their families as they navigate a world saturated with intrigue and tension.

“These are the kinds of partnerships we want to build along. You really need an Internet with a strong connection.”

One of the few people Cecile learned a lot from, especially in this industry, is Amit, EVP for South Asia and Southeast Asia.

“The culture at Lionsgate is very collegiate, not too formal,” Cecile said. “In a way, it’s very Western, a little bit more progressive. Amit has allowed me to reach out to anyone in the US and e-mail them. They answer. We are not a traditional company.”

After only a year in the Philippines, Lionsgate has registered significant growth. “Over the years, we also created a lot of television content that people don’t know,” Amit said. “Although we didn’t have a platform of our own, we created for third party platform. Mad Men and Orange is the New Black are Lionsgate shows.”

Just recently, Lionsgate rebranded its service with an entirely new color combination.

“We’ve upgraded our App. The look and feel of our App have upgraded and completely changed. From black and white, the colors now display more of a prism. Now if you look at our service, it really shouts out the premium-ness that it brings to the table.”

The TV series, Gangs of London, is a highly recommended release on Lionsgate. “It’s brutal and savage,” Cecile said. “You really don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Every Friday, Lionsgate drops something new in its App for its subscribers base to anticipate and enjoy. “I enjoy the fact that we have something new coming in every week. Kill Bill 1 and 2 are coming in,” informed Amit.

The first and second seasons of Gangs of London, the series about the seedy underbelly of London’s criminal world, are streaming exclusively on Lionsgate Play. After the violent events of Season 1, the map and soul of London have been redrawn, with surviving gangs scattered and new brutal leaders in power, all leading to a battle for London’s soul.

“(There’s also) Gaslit with Julia Roberts and Sean Penn. Even awards shows like the Emmys and the American Music Awards, the Golden Globes are coming in to our App, apart from Gangs of London.”

Amit joined Lionsgate in 2018 and has played a pivotal role in setting up the Lionsgate India operations, from driving partnerships to building consumer propositions and steering technology for the App.

He presently runs operations for Lionsgate across its various businesses, from theatrical to licensing to network, delivering curated content, as well as exciting partnerships.

Lionsgate theatrical distribution partnerships in India has led to the release of successful films like Rian Johnson’s star-studded Knives Out, with Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Jaime Lee Curtis, Toni Collette and Joseph Gordon Levitt.

Jay Roach’s drama, Bombshell, with Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie and John Lithgow; and Anna, with Sasha Luss in the title role joined by Cillian Murphy, Luke Evans and Helen Mirren.

More recently, Amit is building a strong theatrical slate with acquisition of films outside of Lionsgate, such as Guy Ritchie’s Wrath of Man, Sylvester Stallone’s Little America and many others.