MPA forecasts Asia-Pacific online revenues will double by 2024

Asia-based consultancy Media Partners Asia (MPA) predicts that revenues from online video subscriptions and advertising across Asia Pacific will hit $52 billion in 2024.

The figure, released ahead of MPA’s annual APOS Summit (held this year in Bali, Indonesia), is double the $26 billion forecast that MPA has given for this year.

MPA said China will continue to account for a significant share of the region’s online video revenues, with the growth of the country’s online platforms putting pressure on domestic TV rivals. By 2024, said MPA, China’s online platforms, which include the likes of iQiyi and Tencent, will grow their share of video revenues from 29% to 44%.

There will also be strong revenue growth in other Asia-Pac markets, added MPA. Excluding China, it anticipates growth from $10bn now to $21bn in 2024 (also double). The fastest growth in video revenues across the region will be seen in India, which is in line for an 8% CAGR from 2019, boosting revenues to $20bn by 2024.

Vivek Couto

Vivek Couto, MPA’s executive director, said, “China remains at the forefront in online video scalability and innovation, although monetisation models are starting to scale in other major markets. The growth of broadband connectivity and digital video platforms is driving new economic value for content creators, aggregators and sports-rights owners at a global and local level, helping seed digital ecosystems.”

Online video’s growth will have a major impact on content spend. Although MPA said investment in video content will grow at just 3% CAGR between now and 2024 (rising to $73bn), it stressed that this is primarily down to contracting spend in traditional TV. Online video content spend, by contrast, will grow at 10% CAGR to $33bn by 2024.

Despite the strong growth, however, Couto also warned that “piracy and unpredictable regulation present key impediments to progress” in Asia-Pacific.