AsiaPac Scale: From Consumption to Monetization

The Asia Pacific has long been a story of massive scale but challenged economic realities, from low ARPUs and CPMs to regulatory hurdles, a dominant interest in local content and drastic differences from country to country in terms of broadband access, CTV take-up and payment mechanisms. As 500-plus delegates convened in Bali for APOS, however, the topline theme was that this region, so often an afterthought for global companies chasing scale and innovation, has become a hub for pioneering new business models, storytelling techniques—this is, after all, the part of the world that gave us the micro-drama and Squid Game—AI tool deployment and more.

The Asia Pacific “leads the world in screens, time spent and innovation,” said Vivek Couto, executive director of Media Partners Asia (MPA), which organizes the annual event in Bali, in his data-rich opening presentation. “For a long time, the world has looked at us as a big consumption story. But now we’re scaling in terms of monetization; we’re a real revenue story. It’s not just about scale. It’s about the convergence of UGC and social video, premium VOD, retail media and how all these things, with AI, come together to define a new growth map. Streaming success will hinge on monetization, technology and culture working in sync with content. We’re in a market that’s dynamic and full of opportunity for those bold enough to reframe, reinvest and reimagine.”

The region continues to drive global screen growth, Couto said, with 4.5 billion screens today and projected to grow to 5.5 billion in five years. CTV is the fastest-growing segment with a 13 percent CAGR, hitting close to 360 million homes by 2030. By then, 40 percent of all TVs will be connected devices. Meanwhile, by market, China, India, Japan, and Indonesia dominate, with China and India alone accounting for a whopping 72 percent of all screens by 2030. Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand are all set to lead screen growth.

Screen entertainment revenues in the region are projected to reach $175 billion by 2030. TV remains out front today at 49 percent, but that is expected to erode to 41 percent by 2030. Premium video, including SVOD, rises to 29 percent, with UGC and social video rising to 24 percent. Theatrical revenues will be flat, Couto said. “Monetization is shifting decisively toward digital.”

While legacy TV erosion continues, new dollars are arriving in the ecosystem, albeit at a much slower pace than the pandemic-era boom, Couto said. “Ad growth remains healthy, driven by digital. Subscription growth, though, slows enormously. Every dollar will be harder to win. We are entering a tougher, more competitive monetization phase where growth must be earned.”

China, Japan and India will account for almost 75 percent of screen revenues in the region by 2030; each has a distinct monetization model, he said.

China will largely be dominated by short-form content, micro-dramas “and a steady but very mature premium VOD sector, all underpinned by transactions and ads,” Couto said. Japan will be driven by premium and remains “TV-centric,” he said, “with a high ARPU SVOD segment and a fast-growing premium AVOD category.” India will be led by the “dual engine of ads and value-conscious subscription across streaming and TV with mobile, local OTT and hybrid models scaling simultaneously.”

By 2030, UGC and social video are expected to be the top categories in terms of monetization in Indonesia and Thailand, while premium VOD is anticipated to continue dominating in Australia.

Australia’s biggest platforms were represented at the event in several powerhouse sessions. Amanda Laing, managing director of broadcast and streaming at Nine, discussed how the business has been evolving its approach to serving the needs of Australian consumers across multiple platforms, both free and paid. “I talk to my team about what I consider to be half jokingly our unfair advantage,” said Laing in her keynote session. “What do we have that others don’t have?” That secret sauce, she said, is a breadth of platforms, from free-to-air broadcaster Nine to AVOD service 9Now to SVOD streamer Stan and more. “Success is in executing on that and activating across all of those parts of our business to optimize every dollar of content spend…. That does require a mindset shift and a cultural shift from where we’ve been.”

Beverley McGarvey, president of Network 10 and head of streaming and regional lead for Australia and New Zealand at Paramount, similarly weighed in on shifts across free-to-air and streaming. Paramount+ spent several years as Australia’s fastest-growing streamer, McGarvey noted, driven by an efficient price point, a mix of U.S. and locally resonant content, a “tactical” sports offering and a deep library. As the platform continues to scale its presence in the competitive Australian market, key priorities for the future include growing subscriptions, minimizing churn, and boosting engagement, alongside driving gains in its ad tier. “The Paramount+ ad tier is important for Paramount+, but it’s important for the Paramount business in Australia. We now sell across all platforms. We’re trying to make it easy for our clients and partners to transact across Paramount+, our 10 streaming service and 10; they can get those eyeballs across whatever platform they want. For that reason, the ad tier punches above its weight in value.”

On the programming strategy across commissioned and acquired, McGarvey noted that it’s about “getting the content in the right window at the time to maximize monetization. It’s about being open to the idea that the audience can tell us where that window needs to be.”

DAZN’s transformative takeover of Foxtel Group was a key theme of the session with Patrick Delany, CEO of Foxtel Group. “They remind me very much of the News Corp of 30 years ago; they’re aggressively entrepreneurial,” he said. “They have said, keep running the company as an Australian company. We want to help you with the synergy, mainly in the technology.” Foxtel continues to operate a pay-TV service, reaching approximately 1.3 million subscribers, and has rolled out two streaming services: Binge for entertainment and Kayo for sports. “Segmenting the market out to young families with the two streaming services has enabled us to backfill any loss [to pay-TV subs].”

Streaming, naturally, dominated many of the keynotes. Delegates heard from James Gibbons, president for the Asia Pacific at Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), about the rollout of HBO Max in the region and the company’s upcoming spin-off of its channels business.

“We needed to have a model where we could grow HBO Max, stabilize the networks and grow the studios business. That worked very well as an integrated organization because we were able to look at everything holistically. And we gained a lot. Today, we have a streaming service that is profitable and growing globally. We have a movie studio that has had a stream of hits. The network side is a stabilized business, but the world has changed in those three years. In order for us to realize the true value of those assets, they need to have financial and investment flexibility. [The separation] will mean that each company will be able to make the decisions that are required to maximize growth in their part of the business going forward.”

Just ahead of the record-breaking launch of Squid Game season three, Don Kang, Netflix’s VP of content in Korea, showcased what’s driving the streamer’s local programming strategy. Delegates also heard from the team at Amazon about its thriving strategy in India across both free and paid services. Gaurav Gandhi, Nikhil Madhok and Amogh Dusad showcased Amazon’s strategy for India across Prime Video and the free Amazon MX Player, including its plans for micro-dramas on a new platform, MX Fatafat.

“India is a heterogeneous and diverse country with customers having very different needs,” said Gandhi, VP for the Asia Pacific and MENA at Prime Video, on the rationale for having two services in the market. “Both the services address two different sets of customers—Prime Video caters to customers who are subscription-ready, who have transitioned to streaming as their first choice or the only choice of entertainment. While Amazon MX Player is aimed at customers who are now transitioning from traditional media—TV or are still on it, but are not subscription-ready yet, though they are seeking high-quality premium content.”

MX Fatafat will deliver serialized stories, each between one and two minutes in length per episode, with 80 to 100 episodes per series, in a vertical format. “MX Fatafat is a fresh approach, requiring unique writing and production methods, and we are looking forward to launching it later this year,” said Dusad, director and head of content for Amazon MX Player.