OONA TV, an Indonesian-based app available only over the Android OS, said this week it will launch in the U.S. next month. The service promises free “unlimited” live and on demand entertainment via its app, available for Android mobile and the OONA Android TV box.
Currently only available in its home country, OONA offers a wide range of kids programming, drama, movies, esports and TV shows, as well as news from Bloomberg, Aljazeera, Euronews and France24. The company has not clarified yet what U.S.-based programs or channels it will offer.
OONA said it is available to 185 million Indonesians and that it will be expanding to other parts of Asia and Africa, “with a number of high profile launches for the coming 6-12 months.”
Although the service is “free,” OONA uses the data it collects from its viewers to enhance its advertising and bottom line.
“OONA TV users get rewarded with a virtual currency—tcoins—just for watching the content they love, checking out interesting personalized ads which can save them time and money, sharing on social media and interacting with OONAbot, the cool genie in the app who is there to serve them, and give them the best possible CX [customer experience],” the company said.
OONA also claims that its ads get better response than even Google.
“In the Asia market, where OONA TV was launched in conjunction with one of the world’s leading telecoms, Telkom Indonesia, OONA TV has recorded a 21% CTR [click-through rate] on Video Ads which is a huge 92X higher than the average global CTR recorded by Google,” the company said.
Using the launch of Disney+ and a gloomy economic outlook to grease the PR skids, OONA’s offer of “FREE TV FOR LIFE” is “welcome news for the countless Americans who cannot afford to pay subscriptions and as CNN recently noted, 'America’s business leaders are growing more worried the United States will enter a recession by the end of 2020.'”
The app is available via Google Play, but is currently restricted to Indonesia.
