China and India to continue domination as APAC pay TV market grows

The Asia Pacific pay TV sector is set to add 26 million subscribers over the next five years.

According to a new report from Digital TV Research, while the region is set for a significant uptick in subscriber numbers, pay TV penetration will stay at two-thirds of TV households.

Between them, China and India will account for 81% of the region’s 649 million pay TV subscribers by 2027. In the coming years, India will add 11 million pay TV subscribers, but China will only add 5 million – though OTT penetration will remain higher in the latter.

South Korea will be in third place by a significant distance with a total of 20.3 million subscribers. This will be followed by Japan with 17.4 million and Pakistan and Vietnam with 14.7 million each.

IPTV will add 65 million subscribers in the next five years to take it to 337 million. This growth will largely be dominated by China where cable subscribers are cutting the cord and in India.

Simon Murray, principal analyst at Digital TV Research, said: “IPTV subscribers overtook cable TV ones across the region in 2021. Digital cable subscriptions will fall by 29 million between 2021 and 2027. China will lose 38 million digital cable subscribers.”