Eye-on: What lies ahead for APAC’s broadcast and media industry in 2025

Having reviewed some of the key trends and developments that have impacted Asia’s broadcast and media industry in 2024, it is time to look forward to 2025.

Will some 2024’s most impactful technologies continue to leave their mark on the region’s broadcasters and media owners in the New Year, and how will strategies evolve to address what’s ahead in 2025?

APB+’s Shaun Lim spoke with broadcasters and some of their key strategic partners on what they are predicting to be some of the defining trends for 2025.

“There’s a lot to get excited about, and IP video is one trend we’re following closely, especially with SMPTE ST 2110 having stolen the spotlight in 2024. The IP video approach is enabling broadcasters to send uncompressed video, audio, and metadata over dedicated IP networks similar to how they would with baseband SDI, which is a proving a massive game changer.

“SMPTE ST 2110 adoption kicked into high gear in 2024, as the technology to support it became more affordable, and more broadcasters started to get their feet wet with hybrid SMPTE ST 2110/SDI workflows.

“Industry forecasts for 2025 show no signs of an imminent slowdown on the IP video front; on the contrary, we expect to see SMPTE ST 2110 work its way into more venues and facilities next year. This development will redefine broadcasting and media, much like the shift from analogue to digital transformed the craft.”

“This evolution opens doors for a wider range of sports and events that previously were not broadcast, tapping into fresh audiences and engagement.

“Remote production is also on a transformative path, with many regions outside of Asia moving towards centralised studios rather than arena-based production setups.

“While the U.S. and EMEA boast established infrastructure, Southeast Asia is rapidly building capacity. Global cloud providers are establishing data centres across SEA nations like Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, creating high-capacity IP links directly to stadiums. 

“These connections support data speeds of 1G, 10G, and more, facilitating low-latency transmissions from venues to studios with or without reliance on traditional ARQ RIST, SRT, or Zixi protocols.

“This new IP-based approach to cloud broadcast is setting the stage for a future of agile, high-quality production globally … and 2025 promises an unprecedented level of agility and quality in cloud-driven sports broadcasting.”

• i) replace existing ageing equipment.
• ii) integrate new technology with legacy technology in a hybrid environment.
• iii) support operational continuity by presenting new technology with familiar user interfaces.
• iv) take advantage of the scalability potential of an IP infrastructure.
• v) embrace on-going developments in software applications running on appliances, virtual or cloud platforms.  

“Interoperability and modularity are key to future-proofing investments, helping broadcasters avoid costly vendor lock-in. 

“Sustainability will also be a key factor in monitoring and managing production assets in a secure, compliant and economical way. Solutions like TSL’s InSite provide broadcasters with tools to measure, manage and report up-time and power usage, reducing operational costs and enabling organisations to achieve more with less. 

“TSL’s vendor-agnostic approach empowers broadcasters with choice, scalability, low cost of ownership, speed to deploy, low-risk proof-of-concept, and familiar user interfaces to enable smooth transitions to new technologies and workflows.

“Flexible and modular solutions, such as TSL Control ensures broadcasters can adapt and evolve their systems. This adaptability will be increasingly vital in 2025 and beyond.”

“The roll-out of 5G is further enabling remote production, whether in the cloud or not. Whilst virtual reality (VR) and extended reality (XR) are not new, their prominence is becoming larger, and will only grow in 2025.”

“The rise of streaming and on-demand content within APAC is the perfect storm for AI-driven content creation and personalisation, and AI has already started to transform how content is produced, distributed, and consumed. 

“AI can significantly contribute to environmental sustainability within our industry, creating tangible cost savings through more energy-efficient productions while optimising content distribution, hence reducing carbon emissions.

“Poor QoE (quality of experience) turns into subscription churn. AI-powered QC (and fault) monitoring and predictive maintenance tools ultimately reduce waste and resource consumption — and make systems more efficient, robust and improve QoE.

“The key with AI is to not assume that AI is clever, but rather, put it to work in such a way that both efficiency and new business opportunities are opened up. For example, AI contextual advertising can maintain viewer privacy, as it does not rely much on user data or tracking, yet is still targeted advertising.

“Using AI to recognise content to insert branding into videos in a way that aligns with the content being viewed, creates more engaging and non-intrusive ad experiences and consequently, can become a great business opportunity.”

Audience interest also means delivering macro content trends through multiple micro engagements, giving rise to agile, on the pulse, short-form content like micro dramas to gain share of mind among digitally connected audiences.

“Finally, impact is everything. With business performance at the core of everyone’s minds, creator and celebrity powered shoppable content scaled across omni-channels and transcending paid, owned and earned media will redefine what it means to deliver a multiplier effect on businesses.”

“This is driving a powerful trend for 2025: the convergence of AI, hyper-personalised media experiences, and the resurgence of bundled offerings.

“At StarHub, we believe that content is king. We see an opportunity to redefine the way content is delivered. By bringing together a wide array of entertainment, from blockbuster movies and hit TV shows to live sports and exclusive originals, we create a unified hub where audiences can find everything they need in one place. We even include popular streaming services like Netflix and Max into our bundles and on our platform. 

“By analysing customer data, we can closely track how audience preferences evolve and apply this data into how we propose content and offers. Thus, StarHub remains committed to shaping a future by offering a content experience unlike any other – one that seamlessly integrates variety, convenience, and smart content aggregation to meet the unique needs of every viewer.”

“In the past, very large corporations have little need for professional video content production and produce adverts that run all year on linear TV. That ship has sailed, linear TV audiences are leaving in droves, and the ones that remain watch time-shifted TV and skip the adverts anyway. 

“At the same time as linear TV advertising has collapsed, social media has changed how companies disseminate information. Older social media platforms such as Facebook, X and LinkedIn have moved to video-centric content, joining video-native social media apps such as TikTok and YouTube, which have an insatiable appetite for new video content to engage with users with short attention spans.

“Post-COVID, corporations are building video Zoom rooms, video Teams rooms and video production studios for in-house use. The trend is accelerating for smaller companies to produce their own video content.

“As new video technologies like NDI make professional video production easier and cheaper than ever before, the bar of entry to having your own “TV” studio is dropping fast. 

“These new easy-to-use broadcast AV Studios are used to create even more content to communicate with customers and partners. Using the latest Pro-AV pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras, fitted with broadcast grade CMOS sensors for quality and using NDI for simplicity, there will be an avalanche of broadcast AV studios and production systems coming on stream to create and distribute professional quality video to address the exponential global rise in video consumption.”