IPTV and 3D TV Confirmed as Greatest Opportunities for Asian Pay TV Operators

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

With almost all televisions sold soon becoming fully high-definition (HD) capable, better image quality will no longer be sufficient to entice consumers to purchase, or differentiate one offering from the next. Many Asian Pay TV operators are turning their attention to new technologies and services.

Asia’s Pay-TV industry players say new technologies such as IPTV and 3D TV offer the greatest untapped opportunity, according to the 2010 Asia-Pacific Pay TV Operators Survey jointly produced by Global Intelligence Alliance (GIA), a global strategic market intelligence and advisory group, and ContentAsia, an Asia-based information resource designed for everyone in the entertainment. The survey polled 35 pay TV operators and platforms across 14 countries in the Asia Pacific.

A brief summary of Asia’s Pay-TV industry players’ views include:

  1. High Definition TV is reported to be the single biggest revenue opportunity. Over 50% of Asian pay TV operators now offer HD.
  2. Industry players are also looking towards new technologies including video-on-demand, 3D TV, direct-to-home Internet protocol TV (DTH IPTV) and new platforms for future subscriber growth and greater revenues.
  3. Almost one in three operators polled said they see TV, movie and video content distributed over the Internet – whether legally or illegally – as a threat to their future success. Piracy remains a key concern, especially in developing Southeast Asian markets
  4. Less than one in five operators see gaming as an area of future opportunity, and the jury is still out on mobile TV.

“Although no one disputes the inexorable march towards digital. For the moment more mature programmers aren’t going overboard on hyperbole over the benefits, and they remain deeply unsure about revenue models. Many say they don’t expect digital revenues to come anywhere near their traditional revenue in the next three to five years. That doesn’t mean they aren’t moving in that direction though. The digital question of the moment, then, is about balance – or, specifically, how far and fast to move into the future without jeopardising today’s business”, said Janine Stein, Editorial Director at ContentAsia.

“With the advent of digital set-top boxes, it’s much more about picking and choosing these days. Audiences can be very selective about content and skip the advertising. Programmers and advertisers need to come to terms with this new reality”, said Peter Read, Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific at Global Intelligence Alliance.

The standard 2010 Asia-Pacific Pay TV Operators report is priced at USD 2,800 and available immediately in softcopy (PDF format). Custom analyses (e.g. channel-specific assessments, comparisons with previous years, country/genre data breakdowns, presentations etc.) are available upon request.