Putting it on the Line

Putting it on the Line

The award winners from the video streaming app's grand annual Nexplosion event

SOCIAL & LIFESTYLE
Putting it on the Line
A show from Drag Race Thailand.

With an average of over 4.3 million individual viewers using its platform every minute, Line TV, the popular messaging app's video streaming platform, is the real streaming powerhouse in Thailand.

The service, which launched three years ago, is a mixture between more traditional free TV channels and online platforms like Netflix, offering both original films, series and TV shows alongside licenced content (such as re-runs of aired programmes) from traditional and digital television channels like Channel 3, MCOT or Workpoint TV. Users can download the Line TV app, also accessible from the Line messaging app, or simply visit tv.line.me and enjoy all the content absolutely free.

Just recently, the streaming platform took the chance to announce programmes coming to the Line TV roster at their annual Line TV Nexplosion 2018 event. Interesting projects include the new original show The Collector, a horror series based on a web comic, and reality show Drag Race Thailand, to name a few.

Piyarat Kaljareuk.

The event was also the venue for the Line TV Awards 2018. Announced earlier this year, the awards welcomed audiences to vote for their favourite shows across eight different categories. Here are the award categories, as well as the shows that won them.

Top Entertainment - Take Guy Out Thailand Season 2, TV Thunder

A twist on the usual Take Me Out formula first seen in the UK, it's a dating show focused exclusively on homosexual men. Like its heterosexual counterpart, the show involves a panel of regular "contestants", with a "guest" being featured each episode. The contestants take some time to learn about the guest, before signalling whether they would go out with them. The guest then chooses among the contestants who have signalled their interest and goes on a date with them.

Most View - DIARY TOOTSIES THE SERIES SEASON 2, GDH559

Told as a collection of short skits, the series is based loosely on the stories shared by Cha, the mysterious curator of the Facebook page Diary Of A Gay Man. The stories generally revolve around Cha and his group of friends and the antics they get up to in their search for true love.

Content of The Year - Project S The Series: 'Side by Side', GDH559

Also from GDH559, Project S The Series is actually a series of series, made up of four different series, each having to do with a particular sport. The series that actually won the award is called Side By Side, and focuses on a pair of childhood friends and badminton partners Yim and Dong. Yim is born with autism, leaving him with the mental capabilities of a small child, and thus relies on the younger Dong to care for him.

Sukwan Bulakul. Line TV

Best Kiss Scene - Ittiphat Thanit and Suradet Piniwat from 2 Moons The Series, CCDM

The series follows a group of six boys who meet each other in college, and the chaotic love story between all of them. Known primarily for its roster of extremely attractive young male actors, the series' first season aired new episodes every Sunday between May to July 2017, with a total of 12 hour-long episodes.

Best Fight Scene - Yim Vs. Dong, Project S The Series: Side by side, GDH559

Again from Project S The Series: Side By Side. The scene is an emotionally charged moment in the series, which sees the helpless Yim wrestle his partner to the ground out of anger. Even then, he couldn't hit his beloved little brother, and could only punch the ground next to his head again and again until his knuckles bled.

Best Couple - Arthit and Kongpop, Sotus S The Series, GMMTV

The sequel to the popular 2016 LGBT drama, Sotus S The Series returns to follow couple Arthit and Kongpop as they deal with the new-found positions they've found themselves in life. Arthit is now a fresh-faced employee at his new job, while Kongpop is now the intimidating "upperclassman" at his college.

Best Viral Scene

A remake of a classic TV show, Chai Mai Jing, Ying Tae (Fake Man, Real Woman) follows Rin (Davika Hoorne), a down-on-her-luck woman from the country who disguises herself as a transexual woman for work. The scene that won the award features her mentor Ken (Chalathit Thanthiwut) as he teaches Rin how to order coffee as a transsexual.

Best Song - Tod Tee Aow Tae Jai (Sorry For Being Selfish) by 'Pek' Palitchoke Ayanaputra, GMM Grammy

Aside from TV content, Line TV has also more recently branched out into offering music content for users as well. This year's best song is from pop star "Pek" Palitchoke Ayanaputra, which was first released in July of last year. The song has since received over 5.7 million views on YouTube, with another 200,000 from Line TV.

Diary Tootsies The Series Seasion 2 won Most View Award. Line TV

The Line TV Awards 2018 winners. Photos courtesy of Line TV

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