Report: AsiaPac to Add 100 Million Pay-TV Subs by 2021

LONDON: Pay-TV subscriptions in the Asia Pacific are expected to increase from a collective 438 million in 2015 to 536 million by 2021, according to Digital TV Research.

The Asia Pacific Pay TV Operator Forecasts report surveyed the top 65 operators across 17 countries in the region. Covering 87 platforms in total, these operators will climb from 81 percent of Asia Pacific pay-TV subscribers in 2015 to 83 percent by 2021.

The top ten operators will continue to account for two-thirds of subscribers over the next five years. Seven operators had more than 10 million subscribers by end-2015—and this number will increase to 12 operators by 2021. China and India dominate the operator rankings by subscribers.

The leader in 2015 was China Radio & TV, which will hold onto that dominant position in 2021. China Telecom and BesTV (China) will also hold on to their number two and three spots, respectively. Den Networks in India ranked fourth in 2015 and will drop to fifth in 2021, when India’s Hathway overtakes its subscriber numbers.

The dominance of China and India is diminished when the operators are ranked in revenue terms. Subscription and PPV revenues for the 65 operators will increase by nearly $6 billion between 2015 and 2021 to $31 billion. These operators will maintain their three-quarters share of Asia-Pacific pay-TV revenues for the next five years. However, the proportion for the top 10 operators will fall from 54 percent in 2015 to 49 percent in 2021.