Jakarta. Indonesia-based football television network SuperSoccer TV aims high to grow its business, having set a target of signing up half a million subscribers next year, in addition to expanding its services to the Middle East and America.

Perada Suara Production, the company behind SuperSoccer, launched the football-focused over-the-top entertainment network on Nov. 10. It features live match coverage as well as a video-on-demand library, accessible via connected devices such as smartphones and tablets.

Perada Suara is affiliated through its shareholders with the Djarum Group, a diversified conglomerate.

The SuperSoccer TV application, which is available on Google's Playstore, Apple's Appstore and the internet, allows people to watch football content anywhere and anytime.

Describing itself as a fully dedicated channel for fans, SuperSoccer TV claims to be the world's first football television streaming network.

In a recent interview with the Jakarta Globe, SuperSoccer business development director Mirwan Suwarso said around 275,000 smartphone users have already downloaded the application.

"By the end of August next year, we target for it to have been downloaded by between 1.5 million and 2 million users and from those numbers, we aim to get about 500,000 subscribers," said Mirwan, who has had a long career in sports and show business before becoming involved with SuperSoccer.

SuperSoccer TV secured the exclusive broadcasting rights for the Serie A Italian League, English Football League Championship, EFL Cup, World Cup qualifiers in South America, the 24-hour channels of Manchester United TV and more.

In contrast to traditional television networks, SuperSoccer TV does not choose which games to broadcast, instead providing a list of games available via the application, be it live, or recorded matches, so subscribers enjoy the freedom to choose whichever game they want to watch.

A complete array of real-time match statistics is provided for fans to keep them up to date with the latest developments.

"SuperSoccer TV is the beginning of a transition period where soccer lovers are no longer dictated to by the television stations. Our vision is to provide a service so that they can watch the game whenever they want, without any advertising interruptions or spam," Mirwan said.

Despite this statement, SuperSoccer still views traditional broadcasters as important to promoting its brand and it has sublicensed its broadcasting rights to RCTI and Trans 7 – both national free-to-air television networks in Indonesia – and Jakarta-focused television network Jak TV.

SuperSoccer, which has more than 800,000 followers on Twitter and more than 162,000 on Facebook, has spent about $3 million to secure the broadcasting rights to various football leagues, Mirwan said.

In terms of business strategy, Mirwan said this year was spent on educating the market and next year is set for expansion.

SuperSoccer TV is currently working to offer various types of football-themed shows, including highlights, documentaries, independent movies, reality shows and television series.

"Looking at our future services, we will be like the football version of Netflix," Mirwan said.

Most of SuperSoccer TV's subscribers are currently from Indonesia but Mirwan said they plan to expand their services to the Arabian Peninsula and the United States in the future, to reach a global audience.

"One of our stakeholders at SuperSoccer TV comes from Bahrain, so we might replicate our service in that market. We may localize our service at some point, but people do watch the same football games right?," he said.

Leveraging the Djarum Group's strong network, SuperSoccer has sealed a deal with electronics manufacturer Polytron to bundle its service with new smartphones and smart TVs.

It will also utilize the established online distribution and payment platform of e-commerce marketplace blibli.com, which is controlled by the Djarum Group.

To further expand its distribution network, SuperSoccer subscription packages will also be available for purchase through the Indomaret minimarket retail network and data bundling packages offered by mobile telecommunication providers.

Growth in Internet Access

Apart from relying on football fans, Mirwan said he is upbeat about the company's business, looking at the rapid growth in internet access in Indonesia.

He said the archipelago is experiencing rapid growth in the number of smartphone users, while at the same time, internet connection speeds are expected to improve, while data costs may become even more affordable.

All these factors are expected to encourage more people to make use of video streaming and enjoy services provided by content providers such as SuperSoccer.

"In a big city such as Jakarta, where people spend lots of time on the road due to traffic, if can we can offer entertainment during their waiting time, I believe subscribers will say, 'why not?' Furthermore, for those with families, their time to watch football games is indeed limited. So we offer them a solution," Mirawan said.