The APAC media landscape is currently defined by a profound paradox. On one hand, we are witnessing a golden age of digital consumption. Digital TV Research forecasts that over-the-top (OTT) revenues in the region will surge by US$15 billion by 2029, reaching a staggering $49 billion — up from $34 billion in 2023.
On the other hand, traditional telcos, direct-to-home (DTH) providers, and cable giants responsible for delivering this content are at a critical crossroads.
The transition from legacy pay-TV to multiscreen, mobile-first streaming is no longer a strategic option for the distant future; it is a survival mandate. Across APAC — from mature markets like South Korea and Singapore to fast-evolving ones such as Thailand and Indonesia — operators face complex challenges and need flexible solutions to make the leap to OTT.
The new battlefield: Key challenges in the transition to OTT in APAC
While operators are actively engaged in adopting OTT across APAC, execution is a complex puzzle. Operators are navigating a unique set of hurdles that differentiate this region from the West.
The monetisation-cost tightrope
One of the most persistent pressures is the inflation of premium content costs, particularly for live sports. Compounding this is a double licensing reality: content owners often charge separate fees for OTT rights above and beyond traditional broadcast rights.
Monetisation is also a challenge. To effectively monetise OTT content, operators must move beyond simple subscription models toward hybrid monetisation. This involves embracing a sophisticated mix of subscription video-on-demand (SvoD), transactional video-on-demand (TvoD), and a rapidly growing consumer appetite for advertising-based video-on-demand (AvoD) and free ad-supported streaming television (FAST).
Advertising models also need to evolve from broad placement to personalised, targeted advertising to increase yield.
The persistence of piracy
Content security is a significant priority. In many APAC sub-regions, the proliferation of low-cost, illicit IP set-top boxes poses a direct threat to ROI. Operators can no longer rely on basic encryption; they require robust, multi-layered security, including forensic watermarking and advanced digital rights management (DRM) for access control, to protect their investments and satisfy global content owners’ stringent requirements.
Embracing hyper-localisation and integration with global and regional OTT giants
Another challenge is competition. Operators are fighting a multi-front war against global giants, regional powerhouses, and agile local players. As a result, many operators have integrated these regional and global OTT services into their packages to mitigate the threats.
Aggregation alone is not enough. Success in APAC requires hyper-localisation. This goes beyond simple subtitles; it requires high-quality dubbing in local dialects and a social-first viewing experience. Features like "bullet comments" or community-driven live chats — which are mainstream in East and Southeast Asia — are becoming baseline expectations.
Ultimately, growth requires a regional strategy, not just a localised global one.
Modernising the architecture: Speed over complexity
To meet these challenges, the underlying technology must shift from rigid, hardware-heavy legacy systems to agile, cloud-native architectures. The fragmented device ecosystem in APAC — where a user might switch between a high-end smart TV and a budget smartphone — demands a platform that delivers consistent quality across all screens.
For many tier-one operators, the hurdle is integrating modern OTT workflows with existing DTH or IPTV infrastructure without ballooning Capex. This is where state-of-the-art video platforms like Setplex’s Zapflex, which supports Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) models, are changing the game. By moving to a cloud-based video architecture with flexible business models, operators can:
- Accelerate time-to-market: In a competitive landscape, launching a service in months rather than years is a massive advantage. A complete, integrated platform avoids the delays of managing multiple best-of-breed vendors.
- Control costs: Deploying and maintaining a multi-vendor stack can lead to high integration costs, unpredictable operational expenses, and vendor management overhead. A single-vendor platform typically offers a more predictable Capex/Opex model, which is appealing in markets with tight margin pressures.
- Scale dynamically: Cloud-native platforms allow operators to handle massive traffic spikes — common during major events like the World Cup or F1 — without over-investing in physical servers.
- Centralised management: A unified backend that manages content, billing, and analytics across all screens reduces technical debt and streamlines workflows, lowering the overhead of managing multiple vendor relationships.
Furthermore, a single platform provides operators with a holistic view of user behaviour, content performance, and business metrics across all services and devices. This enables operators to quickly adapt offerings — such as launching targeted promotions, adjusting content mixes, or optimising ad loads — based on unified data insights.
Real-world success: The TrueVisions evolution
We recently saw these principles in action with TrueVisions, Thailand’s largest cable and satellite provider. Facing the shift toward on-demand consumption, TrueVisions needed to modernise their legacy architecture to meet the digital expectations of over 1.4 million subscribers.
The goal was to launch TrueVisions NOW, a standalone OTT brand functioning as a "content super-aggregator." The timeline was incredibly tight — it was required to launch within six months, involving complex integrations with third-party services, payment gateways, and existing single sign-on systems.
By utilising a cloud-based OTT platform powered by the SaaS version of Setplex’s Nora middleware, TrueVisions achieved a rapid transformation with minimal friction. They deployed branded applications across iOS, Android, Web, Android TV, Apple TV, LG, VIDAA and multiple smart TV platforms.
This shift modernised their look and allowed them to bundle telco services and integrate global and regional OTT providers like HBO Max, iQIYI, WeTV, and Viu into a single user experience.
The results were immediate: over 850,000 new users onboarded in the first 15 months and a significant expansion in monetisation through diverse models.
The path ahead: AI and the search for ARPU
Looking toward the future, the OTT landscape in APAC will continue to diverge based on market maturity. In advanced markets, the focus will shift toward leveraging AI to refine the user experience. AI-driven recommendation engines and personalised UI/UX will be the primary tools for reducing churn. Operators will use deep data analytics to optimise ad loads and facilitate targeted marketing, directly boosting average revenue per user (ARPU).
In developing markets, the priority will be to transition to cloud-based platforms to accelerate service rollout and security. We will likely see deeper integration of OTT within super apps and a heavier focus on short-form content to cater to the mobile-only segment.
APAC is not a one-size-fits-all OTT market. For operators, the winning strategy lies in choosing a flexible, scalable video platform that allows them to address local and regional requirements today while building the infrastructure for the massive regional growth of tomorrow.
About the author: Johnny Cheung is VP APAC at Setplex. Join him and his team at BroadcastAsia 2026, they can be found at booth 5A3-3 at the IAMT Pavilion. BroadcastAsia 2026 is taking place at the Singapore EXPO from 20-22 May.
