Direct to Home (DTH) pay-TV revenues in the Asia-Pacific region will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7% to reach $12.5 billion by 2019, according to Media Partners Asia (MPA).
This growth will be driven by significant uptake of HD and VOD services,MPA said, adding that DTH’s share of pay-TV subscribers in the region will increasefrom 12% to 22% over the next decade.
India, whose active DTH subscriber base will grow from 41 million in 2014 to 75 million by 2023, will remain the most important market for DTH pay-TV in the region.
Much of India’s growth can be attributed to increase in revenue from HD subscribers, upselling of SD subscribers to high-value packs, and a higher uptake of value added services.
The Philippines has also emerged as a strong market for DTH services in recent years, driven by Cignal and Gsat, where total DTH pay-TV subs reached 1.06 million in 2014 and will rise thrice over the next decade.
DTH will also play an important role in the growth of pay-TV in Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Vietnam, but its growth remains capped in markets like Indonesia and Thailand.
However, MPA noted that there could be significantly more growth in Indonesia, ifleading operators in the country convert existing free satellite market to pay-TV (starting with a low cost offer), and offer more premium local pay channels.