The Asia Pacific pay TV sector is bucking the downward trends in much of the rest of the world. According to Digital TV Research, subscribers will grow by 78 million and revenues by $2.73 billion between 2017 and 2023. Principal analyst Simon Murray said:
“China and India together will account for 81% of the region’s 686 million pay TV subscribers by 2023. China will add 33 million subscribers between 2017 and 2023, and India will increase its total by 28 million. However, six of the 22 countries covered in this report will lose subscribers between 2017 and 2023. Taiwan will be the biggest loser, with subscribers down by 10.3%”.
Digital cable will supply 37 million of pay TV subscriber additions between 2017 and 2023. However analog cable subscriptions will fall by 52 million, leaving cable down overall. IPTV will bring in an extra 67 million subs, with pay satellite TV up by 26 million.
Asia Pacific pay TV revenues will increase by $2.73 billion between 2017 and 2023. China, India and Japan will together account for two-thirds of the $37.89 billion pay TV revenues by 2023.
Pay TV revenues will fall in six countries between 2017 and 2023 including Japan (down $623 million), South Korea (down $225 million) and Hong Kong (down $89 million). On the plus side, India will contribute $1.6 billion in additional revenues, with China bringing in $924 million more and Indonesia an extra $472 million.
