AFTER Vivamax, the Viva app that gave you sexy and titillating, if not adult films, now comes another streaming platform, this time for the general audience.

Viva calls it Viva Prime, hoping it will be as successful as Vivamax, and it will be available on January 29.

“Vivamax will continue to deliver more risqué content, while Viva Prime will be more for everyone,” explained Valerie del Rosario, Senior Vice President for content creation and development of Viva.

Vivamax has millions of viewers

“Viva Prime will be more accessible to everybody. All the movies that Viva will release theatrically will be the content of Viva Prime. The new series that we will launch will be released on Viva Prime,” she said.

Vivamax has been unprecedented in its success, according to Vivamax COO Roland de Guzman.

“For the past 18 months, Vivamax has been the top-grossing, top-earning app in the Philippines for video streaming,” he said.

Thanks to its adult films, among other things.

“Last year, Vivamax generated almost 100 million views, almost 800 million views a month, about 300,000 a day,” he said.

Director Paul Alexei Basinilio Basinilio, chief marketing creative officer, said Viva Prime is general audience entertainment.

For general patronage

“We have a lot of streaming platforms, especially the foreign ones. We want to compete against them, as well. When we make a general audience content, we should be able to compete with the global streaming platform. Eventually, Viva Prime will become your premium streaming service,” he said.

“We are targeting the advertisers, as well. So, the content we are making should also be welcomed by the advertisers,” he added.

Viva Prime uses the now-familiar tagline, “Ka-Viva.”

“We’re very, very excited to have different kinds of content for Viva Prime,” Basinilio said.

‘Deleter’ opens doors

With the success of Viva’s “Deleter” and “Partners in Crime” in the Metro Manila Film Festival last December, it is clear that the public will go back to the cinemas.

“So,  we’re focusing on content for Viva Prime,” said Viva president and chief operating officer Vincent del Rosario.

“We have so many movies in the line-up. This week, we have the Kim-Jerald movie [‘Girlfriend Na Pwede Na’],” he said.

The film stars the reel and real love team of Kim Molina and Jerald Napoles.

Next week, it will show the movie of Janno Gibbs, ‘Hello, Universe.’ Most of these movies will eventually end up on Viva Prime.

20 movies in pipeline

“This year, at least 20 movies will pass through the cinemas and end up on Viva Prime. The stars who have taken a backseat the past two years, they are certainly looking for the right material,” he said.

“They will surely have projects this year. Plus, we will be working with stars from the networks and other management companies. So, it will be very exciting,” he added.

Biggest stars on Viva Prime

All the biggest stars, the latest Pinoy films, all-time favorites, and Hollywood and Korean blockbusters will be seen on Viva Prime.

“It’s primetime at any time, budget-friendly, available to everybody for only P49 a month,” Basinilio said.

“We are offering the best load of content from the home of best directors, with blockbusters all over the globe. The most affordable premium streaming platform for everyone is available anytime, anywhere starting January 29,” he added.

Even if Viva has launched another business platform, it welcomes the entry of big studios in streaming.

“Consumers must have a choice,” Vincent stressed.

“This is a free market. It inspires us in improving our craft, the content that we offer. Our kababayans both here and abroad must have a choice. Even in cinemas, in theaters, we welcome all players. Maganda mas buhay ang industry,” he added.

‘We know Pinoys’ taste’

Viva has an edge, he believes.

“Perhaps, the difference, after Viva’s more than 40 years in the business, is we know the local market, the taste of Pinoy, the humor and the heart of Pinoy,” he said.

Since the pandemic started, films made for cinema and for streaming do not have a distinction anymore, he noted.

“I think the line has been blurred,” Vincent said. “We’re working with the right people and creating our content.”

Sharon, Sarah films

Seeing the traction of films streaming on Vivamax from the back end, Vincent reveals that one of the strongest contents in terms of numbers is the Kim-Jerald project, “Ang Babaeng Walang Pakiramdam.”

In the past two years, the films of AJ Raval and Angeli Khang have also been among the most watched on the platform.

“These stars are now recognized by consumer brands as endorsers. Of course, the end goal for these artists is to eventually go mainstream. That’s the career path we envision for them,” Vincent said.

Bigger stars are also on Vivamax, he said.

“If you dig deeper, Sharon [Cuneta] and Sarah [Geronimo] are on Vivamax. The sexy stars are merely magnified because their films are the most watched. Even Lee Min Ho is on Vivamax,” he said.

Vivamax’s de Guzman said the streaming platform is seen in 110 territories, with more than six million subscribers in only two years.

“Technically, counting all territories, Vivamax airs in all of Asia, Oceana, South America, some countries in Africa, the Middle East and Europe,” he said.

Watch Viva Prime January 29

In terms of total number, more than 85 percent of Vivamax subscribers are still coming from the Philippines, he said.

“We do have some 23,000 foreign subscribers across the world. Not just Filipinos watch Vivamax. We have foreigners who are our audience,” he said.

Come January 29, Viva Prime will release “Greed,” with Nadine Lustre, directed by Yam Laranas.

Next in line are Mac Alejandre’s “May, December, January” in February, followed by Darryl Yap’s “Maid in Malacañang.”