VietNamNet Bridge – Attracting more users, collecting fees from added value
services and cooperating with network operators for mutual benefits are the
three things enterprises have to do to get an in-grade promotion in the OTT
market.
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WeChat falls, Line and Kakao Talks jump to higher grades
The ranking of the “hottest” apps of Apple Store’s Social Network section showed
that from January 1, 2013 to April 7, 2013, WeChat always was among the leading
chatting and free messaging software apps with the highest numbers of users.
From January 1-30, 2013, for example, WeChat ranked the second or third, just to
Facebook Messenger or Zalo.
However, since the netizens decided to boycott the Chinese network because of
the “cow tongue line” problem. WeChat has seen the number of users decrease
sharply, thus falling to the 16th position and getting left behind by Kakao
Talk, Line, Viber, Zalo and Facebook Messenger.
After WeChat fell down the grades, the three leading positions in the period
from February 2013 to April 2013 have been taken in turns by Zalo, Line and
Facebook Messenger, Viber and Kakao Talk.
The Communication Ranking of Google Play also showed the sharp decline of WeChat
from the third position to the 13th after January 30, 2013.
The sharp fall of WeChat has given the golden opportunities for Line and Kakao
Talk to jump to higher grades. Line, for example, was on the first position on
the five consecutive days from February 17 to February 22, while it has been on
the fourth position since late March 2013. Kakao Talk has jumped by 8 grades
from the 18th on January 30 to the fifth on April 8.
Experts have attributed the grade increase of Kakao talk to the participation of
the hot girl Midu and the South Korean famous band Big Bag and the existence of
Big Bag, Midu stickers launched by Kakao Talk. Big Bag is believed to play an
important role in the in-grade promotion of Kakao talk, especially when it ranks
the 5th in the list of the celebrities with most Vietnamese fans.
All race for the Number 1 position in the OTT market
Viber, Zalo, Kakao Talk and Line all have reported the big increases in the
number of Vietnamese users. Viber has outstripped others to become the leading
OTT service provider with 3.5 million users, which is triple the number of users
of the other apps (approximately 1 million).
In February alone, the number of users of Viber soared by 500,000, which it
expects to see the number of members to increase to 600,000 in March.
Smart phone users, who were asked in a mini survey, confirmed that Viber now has
the highest number of users. Meanwhile, the big mobile network operators in
Vietnam have confirmed that Facebook Messenger and Viber have consumed much
broadband capacity.
As OTT apps have attracted a high number of users, it’s now the time for them to
think about how to collect money from users. WhatsApp charges 1 dollar on the
users who want to use the version with no ad pieces. Meanwhile, Line and Kakao
Talk make money by selling associated things like stickers or the utilities for
games, through the payment portals of Google Play or App Store.
The strong popularity of OTT apps has badly affected the business of mobile
network operators. An estimate of MobiFone showed that mobile network operators
lose VND1 trillion a year because of the existence of OTT.
Buu Dien