IPTV Subscriber Base to Grow by 51 Percent in Asia Pacific

SINGAPORE: The IPTV subscriber base in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow by 51 percent this year, according to research and consulting firm Frost & Sullivan, closing 2009 at 9.4 million users and accounting for 37.6 percent of the global subscribers. 

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Asia-Pacific IPTV Update, finds that the IPTV subscriber base in the region will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 24.6 percent annually between 2009 and 2014, climbing to an estimated 23.5 million subscribers by the end of 2014.

Last year, in 2008, only eight Asia-Pacific territories had commercial IPTV offerings—China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, Singapore and India—and subscribers stood at 6.27 million. Vietnam launched IPTV services this year. Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand are all expected to roll out IPTV services in the next 12 months, with the Philippines slated for 2011. 

The key considerations for IPTV’s success, says Frost & Sullivan industry analyst Adeel Najam, are broadband penetration levels and low pay-TV presence. Najam believes that as much as 62 percent of the IPTV subscriber net additions from now until 2014 will come from emerging markets like China, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, Thailand and the Philippines.

"Another perennial critical determinant is, of course, content," Najam said. He attributes Hong Kong’s PCCW’s success of its ‘now TV’ service to its mix of premium and local content. "With the right content strategy, PCCW not only managed to capture more than 30 percent of Hong Kong’s highly competitive pay-TV market within the first two years, but has now tripled its average per user revenue and kept subscriber churn to under one percent."

He added: "Exclusive content, wherever local regulations permit, will give operators a leg up in the game." Najam points to SingTel’s recent win for the exclusive broadcast rights to three seasons of English Premier League. "The exclusivity deal may not be enough to topple Singapore’s dominant cable TV operator, StarHub, anytime soon, but it clearly gives SingTel a skin in the game and is likely to earn the telco a respectable number of IPTV subscribers," Najam concluded.