While linear TV remains important with local and Asian content, sports, and niche international channels driving viewership, the growth of legal and affordable online subscription video-on-demand (SVoD) options, as well as the pervasiveness of piracy, means that the value of premium sports and entertainment is migrating rapidly away from pay-TV to online, said Vivek Couto, Executive Director, Media Partners Asia (MPA).
Couto was speaking as MPA released its Asia-Pacific Pay-TV Distribution 2022 report, which predicted one million net new pay-TV subscribers in the Asia-Pacific region from 2022-2027, driven by India and parts of South and South-East Asia. The modest growth however, is partially offset by contraction in all other regions.
Excluding China, the total number of pay-TV subscribers in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow from 232.9 million in 2022 to 234.7 million by 2027. India will remain the largest market in size, accounting for 52% of total subscriptions by 2027.
Subscription and advertising revenues is predicted to grow by an estimated 3.5% in 2022 and is projected to grow at 2.1% CAGR over the next five years. Excluding China, the Asia-Pacific pay-TV revenue pie is estimated to grow 1.4% in 2022 and at a CAGR of 1.7% between 2022 and 2027.
Cuoto concluded, “Pay-TV’s future sustainability is anchored to bundled IPTV and home broadband services with telcos and pay-TV operators also integrating premium online SVoD services through the launch of Android platforms, hybrid set-top boxes (STBs) and various new packages.”