SGX’s first and only de-spac has whetted the market’s appetite, promising more action in the year ahead. Will investors bite?
Live streaming company 17Live faced a challenge in 2024 following its de-spac (special purpose acquisition company) transaction late last year, which saw three CEO changes in quick succession. Alex Lien, who was CEO during the deal, resigned in late January. Co-founder Joseph Phua stepped in briefly before passing leadership to Jiang Honghui, CEO of the spac that acquired the company.
Since its debut on the Singapore Exchange S68 , the company has adopted a more conservative approach, focusing on careful financial management as part of its optimisation strategy. This included restructuring its Taiwan operations in the first quarter, leading to layoffs, as reported by local media.
At its seventh anniversary event in early November, held in its main market of Japan, Jiang told The Edge Singapore that the company — also known as Inchi Nana (one seven) — is poised to accelerate its growth and put its cash flow to work. Speaking from the heart of Tokyo in Shinjuku, where the event took place, Jiang declared the company was opening a new chapter. “We are back and we mean business,” he says. “Of course, we will be careful not to let this affect profitability.”
Jiang says the company’s “17Live Forward Strategy”, revealed in its 1HY2024 ended June results, is now fully underway. This strategy includes investing in platform improvements and acquiring and retaining the right live streamers or “Livers”.
17Live generates most of its revenue through the purchase of “Babycoins”, an in-app currency that users accumulate to buy and send virtual gifts to the Livers they support.
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He also notes that the company has lost a significant number of Livers to competitors who are actively poaching top talent. With larger budgets, these rivals can offer higher pay, prompting many of 17Live’s Livers to break or end their existing contracts with the platform.
17Live CEO Jiang Honghui. Photo: Albert Chua/The Edge Singapore
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Acknowledging that 17Live cannot compete financially, the company is focusing on helping Livers grow, creating a win-win situation for all parties. This includes improving the onboarding process, offering training and ongoing support, and providing opportunities for significant exposure, such as collaborations with well-known idols and celebrities.
17Live is also shifting its contract-exclusivity structure to allow non-exclusive streaming. The platform began rolling out this update in phases, allowing Livers to stream on other platforms while still participating on 17Live. “Previously, if they had a presence on other live-streaming platforms, they were banned from 17Live. Today, they can come back from time to time to join our in-platform events, for example,” says Jiang.
He says the goal is to create an attractive compensation and event structure that draws high-earning former streamers back to the platform. Jiang describes events as the platform’s “key killer,” as 17Live hosts over 60 online and offline events per month. The policy change will welcome more Livers to join, ensuring they do not feel restricted or reluctant to participate.
“For offline events, we try to have at least one every month, such as the Halloween special and the anniversary flagship event. For online events, we have a lot running at the same time — they are very engaging, promoting interaction between Livers and viewers. From the positive feedback so far, we are looking at increasing the number of offline and online events we run every month,” adds Jiang.
Enhanced visibility and increased profitability?
Following the rollout of the new strategy, Jiang forecasts better profitability in its 2HFY2024 compared to its 1HFY2024, although revenue will be in line with the previous period. “We have better visibility for our financial performance for the next reporting period, but we are still looking forward to ‘positive surprises’ following these new policies.”
For its 1HFY2024, 17Live’s revenue dropped by a third to US$101.1 million ($135.6 million) due to lower revenue from live streaming. Yet, the company was able to report earnings of US$1.9 million, reversing from a loss of US$118.2 million the year earlier. This is on the back of the absence of a revaluation loss of US$128 million on financial liabilities in 1HFY2023. In 1HFY2024, there was a US$705,000 revaluation gain on financial liabilities. Notably, free cash flow remains negative, as does operating cash flow.
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On a q-o-q basis, 17Live reported an operating income of US$3.5 million for 2QFY2024, compared to an operating loss of US$2.1 million in the preceding quarter.
Jiang says the 17Live team will be extremely busy over the next few months. In addition to implementing the new policies, a series of major announcements are planned for early 2025, which are expected to impact monthly active users significantly. He adds that more details will be shared closer to the time.
Premium content marketing
One way 17Live is boosting profitability is by shifting its marketing strategy. The company previously relied heavily on digital and performance marketing but has since recognised that this approach was not the most effective. Instead, 17Live has pivoted to “premium content marketing”, which has delivered better results since its implementation last year.
Since August, the company has increased its focus on exclusive content, hosting live streams with popular idol groups such as NMB48 and HKT48. These groups are part of AKB48, one of Japan’s best-known idol acts, most well known for its “idols you can meet” concept and regular performances in Akihabara, Tokyo. AKB48’s success led to regional sister acts like NMB48 (named after the Namba district in Osaka) and HKT48 (named after Hakata-ku in Fukuoka), as well as international offshoots like JKT48 in Indonesia and KLP48 in Malaysia. Together, the groups dominate music charts, selling millions of CDs and tickets while maintaining a loyal, multigenerational fanbase.
NMB48 performing at 17Live's seventh anniversary event. Photo: 17Live
Another example of 17Live’s premium content strategy is its partnership with Japanese radio station Nippon Broadcasting for the All Night Nippon Zero show, which streams exclusively on 17Live daily at 3am. Part of the long-running All Night Nippon series, which has aired since 1967, the show has built a loyal following over the years. Jiang credits its success to its engaging content and the involvement of well-known personalities, making it a staple of Japanese late-night radio.
“This late-night show resonates deeply with ‘lonely souls’ seeking connection, and it’s become a key part of our unique content offering. Sometimes, we even get surprise hits of traffic due to the celebrity guests invited on the show,” says Jiang, adding that some of 17Live’s popular Livers are also incentivised to create premium content.
Could this move end up cannibalising 17Live’s streamers as it competes for the same audience? Jiang denies this, emphasising that integration is a key part of the company’s strategy, enabling better collaboration between well-known stars and lesser-known streamers.
He says: “When Livers first join, they’re often relatively unknown but bring unique qualities — like a good voice or attractive facial features — that inspire them to start streaming. Our strategy takes them from newcomers to established Livers through skill training in onboarding and nurturing programmes, alongside opportunities for exposure.”
“For example, one university student, a violinist, has done fantastically on our platform and now earns US$5,000 to US$6,000 monthly on our platform. Despite her humble beginnings, she has been selected for an outdoor ad we will be displaying in Shibuya this December. Her goal is to fund overseas studies, which aligns with our mission. By teaching these Livers streaming skills, audience engagement and providing exposure through events and collaborations, we give them the tools to succeed and grow.”
Diversifying revenue stream
One of 17Live’s strategies to diversify its revenue is by exploring live commerce. Earlier this year, the company launched cross-border live commerce from Japan to Taiwan, leveraging its strong vendor network in Japan and its key opinion leader (KOL) base in Taiwan through the OrderPally platform.
Jiang says the venture has met its initial key performance indicator, which is a modest but promising start. Phase two will conclude this month, with phase three set for next month. The company aims to simplify the process for KOLs, enabling easy selection of pre-approved items without heavy logistics.
The platform’s live commerce offering features items such as baby and mother goods, women’s apparel and popular IP-related products, including Spy x Family, Frieren and Chiikawa merchandise, pandering to a broad audience.
Over 1,000 KOLs in Taiwan use 17Live’s OrderPally for group selling, while Japanese vendors stream via HandsUp. Jiang says that with full payment channel integration by next month, manual settlements will end, paving the way for a more efficient and scalable cross-border operation.
Looking ahead, Jiang emphasises that the company is focused on making several key announcements in 1QFY2025. This is likely linked to virtual live streaming (V-Liver), a key growth area for the company. V-Livers use animated avatars instead of showing their real faces, with their movements, sounds and expressions captured via motion capture technology. This contrasts with traditional live streamers, who appear on screen as themselves.
On Nov 4, a day after the company’s anniversary event, 17Live announced the full acquisition of N Craft, a V-Liver production company. The acquisition includes the V-ii brand, which focuses on nurturing new V-Liver talent and expanding the company’s digital presence.
The virtual streaming landscape is highly competitive. Major players include Japanese-listed Anycolor and Cover Corp, as well as platform providers Iriam and Reality, which are owned by Japanese-listed DeNA and Gree, respectively. Smaller virtual streaming agencies are also active in Japan, South Korea, Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, further intensifying the rivalry.
In this environment, 17Live is expanding its presence by acquiring N Craft’s V-Liver business and integrating around 140 V-Livers into its platform. V-ii will enhance the existing roster of V-Livers on 17Live and those affiliated with its other production company, NexuStella. Jiang likens the recent acquisition to a “hors d’oeuvre of salted peanuts,” adding that the company plans to serve “appetisers” ahead of the “main course” next year.“The team is highly motivated by what we have going on, and they have shared a lot of ideas that we can execute. Hopefully, we get to see these efforts bearing fruit.”
The spac that preceded 17Live was initially listed at $5 but fell as low as 43 cents before recovering slightly to just under $1. With the changes on the horizon, investors who held onto the stock are likely hoping for a rebound in its value.
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