Asia-Pac pay TV subs set for 100m growth

Asia Pacific pay TV providers from the market top 65 companies will collectively see subscriptions to their services grown by nearly 100 million by 2021, according to new research.

Digital TV Research predicts the total number of subs among them will have risen from 438 million in 2015 to 536 million six years later.

The 65 top companies, which accounted for 81% Asia Pacific pay TV subs in 2015, while have an 83% share by 2021, the the Asia Pacific Pay TV Operator Forecasts report claims.

Furthermore, he top ten operators in 2015 (see graph for top five) will account for two-thirds of subscribers over the next five years, with two more operators joining the ten that already have more than ten million subs.

Regional giant China Radio & TV will have a quarter of a billion subs by 2021, up from the 239 million in 2015. Both figures are well ahead of the next largest, China Telecom, though this will see more growth in the six-year period – up from 22.95 million to 39.22 million.

Financially, the top 65 operators will see their collective revenues grow from nearly US$6 billion in 2015 to US$31 billion by 2021. They will account for more than three-quarters of revenues for the next five years, but the proportion among the top ten will fall below half as emerging services proliferate.

While China and India dominate the stats in terms of subs, they do not when counted in revenue terms (subs and pay-per-view only), the report notes. Two Chinese firms will add more than US$500 million in revenues, while Australia’s Foxtel will see the biggest fall among 16 operators set to lose revenues, dipping US$147 million.