Report: China & India Lead in AsiaPac Pay-TV Subs

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LONDON: Pay-TV subscriptions for the Asia Pacific’s top 68 operators are poised to increase by 74 percent, from a collective 376 million in 2014 to 535 million by 2020, according to a new report from Digital TV Research.

China and India dominate the operator rankings by subscribers, according to the Asia Pacific Pay TV Operator Forecasts report. Government policy to consolidate cable TV operations means that China Radio & TV has become the world’s largest pay-TV operator by a long margin, with 198 million subscribers by end-2014. The operator will soon represent every cable TV home in China, with 252 million subscribers expected by 2020, up by nearly 54 million on 2014. Conversely,  Korea’s CJ Hellovision will lose 827,000 subscribers over the same period.

The total subscription and VOD revenues for the 68 operators measured in the report will increase by nearly $10 billion between 2014 and 2020 to $33 billion. These operators will account for 80 percent of Asia Pacific pay-TV revenues by 2020, up from 74 percent in 2014. The dominance of China and India is diminished when the operators are ranked in terms of revenue. China Radio & TV will add $2.16 billion between 2014 and 2020. Overall, five operators will add more than $500 million in revenues. However, ten operators will lose revenues, with Foxtel (down by $151 million) declining by the most.