‘Sluggish’ pay TV growth in Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s pay TV market is set for ‘sluggish’ growth, claims a new report.

According to analysis from GlobalData, the Chinese region will see a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 0.7% between 2020 and 2025. The report claims that this is primarily due to intense competition from OTT video streaming service platforms such as Viu.

Pay TV subscriptions are set to increase at a CAGR of 0.4% during the period as consumers increasingly take up IPTV services. IPTV will be the leading platform for pay TV services, with subscriptions increasing at a CAGR of 1.4% during the period.

The research firm projects the overall pay-TV service ARPU in Hong Kong to increase from US$20.49 in 2020 to US$21.12 in 2025.

Deepa Dhingra, telecom analyst at GlobalData, says: “Considering the rising competition from OTT players, pay TV service providers are compelled to offer value added capabilities such as HD and 4K video and premium content to improve customers’ viewing experience and increase their ARPU levels. 

“PCCW topped the pay-TV services market in Hong Kong, by subscriptions in 2020, and will maintain its leadership in the segment through 2025 supported by its promotional discount offers and premium content offerings. PCCW has been working with TV content delivery technology provider Edgeware to deliver 4K content to its pay TV service subscribers.”