Line Corporation, owner and operator of the popular calling and messaging app, has chosen Thailand as the debut country for the Line TV online streaming service, available for free on Android and iOS devices.
Yesterday's move by the Tokyo-based firm is aimed at pursuing new sources of revenue from video streaming and mobile commerce.
Thailand is Line's biggest market outside of Japan, with 33 million active users.
Line has 80 employees in its local representative office, rising to 100 this year, and the Thai operating unit is the company's second-biggest office worldwide.
Line Thailand spokeswoman Varadee Vasavananda said Line TV would let users watch movies and various entertainment programmes on their smartphones and personal computers free of charge.
The content includes Thai and South Korean movies, TV series and music supplied by Line partners GMM Grammy, GMM TV, Work Point Entertainment, Thairath TV, GTH and Vithita Animation.
Line has allied with GTH, the film studio arm of GMM, to produce the Thai series Stay as a Line exclusive.
"Thailand was chosen as our first global launch because Thais love Korean entertainment content and pop culture," Ms Varadee said.
"With a variety of services on the Line platform, we could introduce more opportunities for new business models and revenue sources in the coming years."
Line's game service generates up to 60% of Line Thailand's revenue, in line with global operating results.
Stickers and official sticker account services contribute 20% of revenue.
Line has 10 million users playing its Let's Get Rich game in Thailand. The company plans to launch the Cookie Run Return game here soon.
April will see the launch of Line@, an app service that lets Line users update information and promotional campaigns of retail shops for which Line grants a QR code.
Users can scan the QR code using the reader in the Line app to access a shop's information.
Line is a subsidiary of South Korea's Naver Corporation.
The company reported global revenue of ¥86.3 billion (23.9 billion baht) last year, up by 114% from 2013.
Line has 181 million active users worldwide.
Japan, Thailand and Taiwan are Line's top three markets, with a combined 92 million users.