India to continue SVOD growth as APAC adds 200+ million subscribers

The Asia Pacific region is set to reach almost three-quarters-of-a-billion SVOD subscribers in the coming years.

According to the latest figures from Digital TV Research, the region will have 746 million SVOD subscriptions by 2027, up from 541 million in 2021. 

China will remain as the largest SVOD market in the region, with 364 million subscriptions to services such as Tencent Video and iQiyi. This will translate to 49% of the region’s total SVOD subscriber base.

India will continue its remarkable growth, adding 92 million subscribers in the coming years to reach 176 million in 2027. Market-leading Disney+, which overtook Netflix in India in 2020, will lose 4.5 million subscribers in 2022 and 10 million in 2023 as a result of missing out on rights to the Indian Premier League cricket. Losing the rights has reduced Disney+’s projected subscriber base from 127 million by 2027 to 66 million. 

Simon Murray, principal analyst at Digital TV Research, said: “The six major US-based platforms [Netflix, Disney+, Paramount+, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+] will only control a quarter of Asia Pacific’s SVOD subscriptions by 2027 – much lower than in any other region in the world. These platforms will never gain access to China and India has plenty of local players.”