Singapore’s StarHub has introduced a subscription-based book streaming service in partnership with Bookmate, a Russia-based e-book reading service provider.
The service offers two subscription tiers – the standard tier costs S$9.98/month and gives readers access to fiction and non-fiction tiles, while the S$15.98/month premium tier offers thousands of business and professional books.
Current and prospective Hub iD users will enjoy discounted rates at S$8 and S$14 respectively, StarHub said.
Simon Dunlop, founder of Bookmate, said the partnership with StarHub marks Bookmate’s first foray into Asia-Pacific and is a significant first step in increasing the company’s footprint in Southeast Asia.
“Singapore consumers are fast growing accustomed to getting easy access to an unfettered catalogue of premium online content, for instance, video and music streaming, across multiple devices for a flat monthly fee,” said Michael Sim, lead futurist–entertainment of i3 (Innovation, Investment, Incubation), StarHub. “This advancement is changing the way people consume content, and we believe the time is ripe to bring this same convenience to book fans, providing a timely boost to Singapore’s ebook scene.”
He said the partnership allows local readers to enjoy unlimited access to Bookmate’s vast collection of e-books through its comprehensive association with leading publishers.
Currently Bookmate has a library of over 500,000 e-books from 600 publishers, including HarperCollins, Head of Zeus, Profile Books, Serpent’s Tail and others.
According to Bookmate, it has over 1.5 million active monthly users in countries including Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, the U.S. and Germany.
The Bookmate app is now available for free download on the Apple App Store, Google Play and through supported web browsers. The app also includes a social feed that allows users to follow their friends, favorite authors and celebrities on Bookmate, while also sharing their favorite books and passages.