OTT competition to hinder traditional pay TV growth in Hong Kong

The total pay-TV services revenue in Hong Kong will grow at a very sluggish compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 0.7% between 2020 and 2025, primarily due to intense competition from pure play over-the-top (OTT) video streaming service platforms such as Viu, reveals GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

According to GlobalData’s Hong Kong Pay-TV Forecast Model, pay-TV subscriptions will increase at a CAGR of 0.4% over 2020-2025 with steady rise in the adoption of Internet Protocol television (IPTV) services. IPTV will remain the leading platform to deliver pay-TV services in Hong Kong and will see its subscriptions grow at a CAGR of 1.4% between 2020-2025, supported by the ongoing expansion of fixed broadband network in the country.

Deepa Dhingra, Telecom Analyst at GlobalData, says: “Considering the rising competition from OTT players, pay-TV service providers are compelled to offer value added capabilities such as HD and 4K video and premium content to improve customers’ viewing experience and increase their average revenue per user (ARPU) levels.”

GlobalData projects the overall pay-TV service ARPU in Hong Kong to increase from US$20.49 in 2020 to US$21.12 in 2025.

Ms Dhingra concludes: “PCCW topped the pay-TV services market in Hong Kong, by subscriptions in 2020, and will maintain its leadership in the segment through 2025 supported by its promotional discount offers and premium content offerings. PCCW has been working with TV content delivery technology provider Edgeware to deliver 4K content to its pay-TV service subscribers.”