AsiaPac Multichannel TV Connections Hits 420 Million

HONG KONG: There are now 420 million multichannel TV connections in the Asia Pacific, more than the rest of the world combined, CASBAA announced at its annual convention, which officially kicked off in Hong Kong today.

The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia’s fourth-quarter update showed a 12-percent growth in multichannel connections in the past 12 months, with 53 percent of the region’s homes now subscribing to a pay-television service.

"As we head towards the close of the year, it’s heartening to see multichannel TV in Asia experiencing impressive growth across so many fronts," said Simon Twiston Davies, the CEO of CASBAA. "And while the new data reflects traditional multichannel TV distribution, the industry is also benefitting from new (and legitimate) distribution via broadband, mobile, Internet and wireless services."

CASBAA, citing Nielsen data, also reported double-digit gains in TV ad revenues in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines and Thailand. However, CASBAA also noted that piracy remains a major concern for AsiaPac channels and operators, with signal theft estimated at more than $2.1 billion as at the end of 2011. India alone had revenue losses of $1.4 billion as a result of piracy in 2011. A lack of market transparency and a tolerance for illegal connections to cable systems is also resulting in piracy revenue losses in Thailand ($261 million), Taiwan ($136 million) and Pakistan ($125 million).