三年后：HOOQ 关闭的后续影响

还记得HOOQ吗？

推出 于2015 年，早于Netflix在菲律宾上线之前，HOOQ 便是该国视频流媒体服务的早期先驱之一。

但在清算及随后因增长不足和无法承担不断攀升的成本而于2020年4月关闭后，HOOQ逐渐销声匿迹，Netflix则成为无可争议的流媒体视频霸主。

然而，就在几天前，关于HOOQ又曝出新的故事——涉及数千美元未付的创作工作和寻求答案的制作公司。

据TechInAsia编辑Terence Lee报道，HOOQ在流媒体服务关闭前，欠独立制作公司约30万美元的款项，这些公司为该平台创作了内容。

在李在其帖子中附带的TechInAsia文章中报道称，目前新加坡有四家制作公司，以及“亚洲其他地区有几家”仍在等待支付其工作款项，其中大多数公司仅收到关于该公司清算的模糊更新，且对于何时实际付款的问题得不到明确答复。

HOOQ 关闭整整三年后，人们不禁要问：我们是如何走到这一步的？

HOOQ的早期岁月

HOOQ定位为亚洲首选的视频流媒体平台，由新加坡电信（Singtel）——新加坡最大的移动网络公司、华纳兄弟娱乐公司和索尼影视电视联合创立。

它承载着诸多期望，不仅提供好莱坞大片和电视剧，还呈现本地电影与节目，供用户在各类设备上观看。

HOOQ在推出时拥有超过10,000部电影和电视剧的片库，并通过与移动电信运营商Globe的合作，以每月199菲律宾比索的订阅费提供服务（当时通过其GoSurf和Tattoo Postpaid套餐）。HOOQ也向非Globe用户开放，但费用有所不同。

当时，尚无一家视频流媒体平台能够独领风骚。尽管电视收视率持续下滑，但互联网视频流媒体市场远不如如今这般庞大。

我们甚至尝试回答网络电视能否挽救下滑的电视收视率这一问题，文中列举了HOOQ及其他新兴流媒体服务，并反思了它们与传统电视节目竞争下的生存前景。

但很明显，HOOQ 具有潜力。正因如此，像 Globe 和 Grab 这样的科技巨头选择与 HOOQ 合作，以各种方式在其产品中展示其视频流媒体服务。

更不用说，所有菲律宾主要娱乐公司，如ABS-CBN广播公司、GMA网络、Viva娱乐和Regal影业，均与HOOQ合作，除其已有的大型大片系列外，还为其客户提供本地内容。

那么，发生了什么？

Netflix 与原创内容的重要性

当Netflix正式登陆菲律宾时（2016年），人们便预见到HOOQ和iFlix等流媒体服务将面临严峻挑战。

除了提供几乎相同数量的内容（我们的Netflix、iFlix和HOOQ对比见此处）外，Netflix的优势在于它可以说是美国最大的视频流媒体平台。

但请记住，那是 2016 年的事。当时的 Netflix 在全球范围内远不如现在庞大。当时，我们甚至曾质疑在 HOOQ 和 iFlix 已提前一年进入菲律宾市场的情况下，Netflix 是否还有立足之地。

那么，发生了什么？

事实证明，正是Netflix的受欢迎程度以及HOOQ缺乏独家和原创节目，最终导致HOOQ彻底关闭。

当Netflix出现时，它不仅向用户展示了其作为美国顶级流媒体应用的卓越声誉，还带来了HOOQ和iFlix所缺乏的大量原创内容。

曾有《怪奇物语》、《马男波杰克》、《女子监狱》、《黑镜》等剧集——名单不胜枚举。最终，HOOQ 缺乏能吸引用户长期订阅的新片和新节目。

即便HOOQ后来试图为更多原创节目融资，但似乎为时已晚。

In April 2020, HOOQ filed for liquidation and closure, where it was highlighted that "HOOQ was not able to grow sufficiently to provide sustainable returns nor cover escalating costs"

Current day

Back to the present, we go back to the news of the HOOQ filmmakers in 2023, still unable to receive payment for all the work they did for the video-streaming service.

An in-depth article from RICE Media covering these unpaid creators reported that HOOQ's liquidation end date had been delayed a staggering five times. This means that the unpaid creators still have a ways to go before they ever get the payment owed to them.

While we don't have more on-hand information about the current developments with HOOQ's liquidation and the unpaid production companies and creators, we felt compelled to share a few thoughts on the matter given that HOOQ had such a promising future in the Philippines when it first launched back in 2015.

First and foremost, we back TechInAsia and RICE Media's coverage of the issue and firmly support the creators who have yet to receive their payment from HOOQ.

It is HOOQ's responsibility to properly liquidate the money owed and we hope that they do so and do so promptly.

Secondly, the incident highlights how important novelty and original content is in this day and age of online video streaming. We wonder how HOOQ would have fared overall if it had just as much focus on exclusive programming as Netflix did back in 2016.

While we know doing so is easier said than done, especially with how expensive producing original content actually is, it's undeniable that offering exclusive and original programming was a key factor in Netflix's success and has become the prime business model for video streaming services today (as adopted by Disney+, Amazon Prime, HBO Go, and more.)

Lastly, HOOQ's demise, and the subsequent liquidation issues we've just talked about, emphasize just how fragile the tech industry as a whole really is.

Even as tech companies make enormous amounts of money, the number of recently reported layoffs in the tech space from Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and even Netflix itself shows how vulnerable the tech world is to market forces as well, no matter how mighty or invincible they may seem on the outside.