Report Shows Gains in Asian Pay-TV Homes

HONG KONG: The CASBAA Convention opened in Hong Kong today with good news about the region’s subscription TV industry; the number of pay-TV homes in Asia now stands at 326 million, showing an increase of 26 million homes this year.

According to the Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA), subscription television in Asia Pacific now reaches more homes than the rest of the world combined.

Of the total subscription base in the region, more than 115 million homes subscribe to digital TV services. Another driver has been the gains in China and India, which account for 90-percent of all Asian pay-TV subscribers. India now has 19 million digital pay-TV households, while China represents 69 million digital video connections. 

“These are very encouraging figures,” said Simon Twiston Davies, the CEO of CASBAA. “Much of the digital promise of the last five years is now being delivered.”

However, CASBAA’s annual survey of 15 Asia Pacific markets conducted in association with Standard Chartered Bank shows that signal piracy is resulting in annual losses to the industry of $1.94 billion. “This estimate uses highly conservative assumptions; actual totals are likely to be much higher,” said Lee Beasley, the director of Media & Entertainment, Origination & Client Coverage at Standard Chartered Bank.

Last year’s CASBAA piracy survey produced an estimate of $1.75 billion in annual pay-TV revenue leakage in Asia. “Pay-TV is becoming more attractive,” said Twiston Davies, “but that means more people want to steal.”

Participating in the survey, PricewaterhouseCoopers found that that the revenue leakage from the legitimate pay-TV industry cost regional governments at least $247 million in uncollected taxes. The biggest losers were the governments of Thailand ($76 million), Pakistan ($56 million) and the Philippines ($39 million).

More than 600 people are attending the CASBAA Convention this week, where the opening day lineup included Jeff Cole of the Center for the Digital Future at the University of Southern California, and a keynote “In Conversation” session with Subhash Chandra, the chairman of Indian media giant Zee Entertainment Enterprises who received a lifetime achievement award for his contribution to the Asian pay-TV industry.  

“The strong speaker lineup as well as the positive demand for sponsorship and exhibition space has proven the convention as an effective networking platform for industry executives to share their latest information," Twiston Davies noted. "At the same time, this is a significant reflection on the confidence of the pay-TV growth opportunities across the Asia Pacific."

To coincide with the convention, CASBAA is launching three new reports exclusively for its members: Vietnam in View, The Philippines in View and Regulating for Growth 2009.