Asia Pacific is undergoing a digital TV boom that will see penetration increase from 29% in 2010 to 73% in 2016 –or up by nearly 400 million homes, according to a new report.
The report from Digital TV Research also said fast growth economies, higher disposable incomes and rising populations will lead this expansion. The report further calculated that these factors will also result in 92 million more TV households between 2010 and 2016.
“China and India have a massive influence over the region, due mainly to their 1 billion-plus populations. Together, they will have 608 million TV households (73% of the region’s total) by 2016. They will provide 467 million digital TV homes combined – or 77% of Asia Pacific’s total,” said Simon Murray, the report’s author.
He said although China and India dominate the region, several other large countries, especially Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, have underdeveloped TV markets. By 2016, these five countries will have 127 million TV households combined, but only 38% digital penetration and 24% pay TV penetration.
Despite the rapid conversion, digital TV will still have plenty of room for growth for some time to come. By 2016, Indonesia and the Philippines will still have analog penetration of 85% and 79%, respectively. China will have 83 million analog homes and India 58 million.
Of the 388 million digital homes to be added between 2010 and 2016, 68 million will come from DTT. Digital cable will contribute a further 188 million and pay DTH 29 million, with pay IPTV supplying a further 85 million.
So pay TV penetration will rise from 49% in 2010 to 63% in 2016, adding 156 million subs to take the total to 522 million. China will provide 296 million pay TV households, with India supplying a further 133 million. However, pay TV penetration will be higher in South Korea (91%) and Hong Kong (85%). Legitimate pay TV penetration will be lowest in Indonesia (7%), with the Philippines and Thailand the next lowest, with 23% each.
Pay TV revenues in Asia Pacific will be $16.5 billion higher in 2016 ($37.3 billion total) than in 2010. Japan ($9.9 billion) will remain market leader in 2016, followed by China ($8.5 billion) and India ($7.8 billion). However, pay TV revenues will be flat in Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea.