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Pay TV in Asia Reports
PayTV in Asia
The first of three reports looking at TV In Pan-Asia examines the Pay TV market in the region, looking at the impact of the growth of SVoD and other OTT services, the digital switchover, operator business strategies and more. If you are an operator, broadcaster or OTT service with a business interest in the Asia-Pacific region, this is a must-read.
PayTV Service Differentiation in Asia
The second of three reports looking at the Pay TV market examines how broadcasters and operators are differentiating themselves in light of increasing competition from OTT players. If you are an operator, broadcaster or OTT service with a business interest in Asia-Pacific, this is a must-read report.
New models for Asia PayTV
Pay TV in Asia-Pacific are learning quickly how to preserve their existing revenue streams, while at the same time getting to grips with the impact of OTT services enabled by ever-faster connectivity in the region. There is, however, another route they can take. This report looks at the potential for Pay TV operators to shift into adjacent businesses.
Collaborating not Competing: How Partnerships are Reshaping the Competitive Landscape
The number of strategic alliances between operators and OTT content providers have doubled between 2016 and 2019. This surge is indicative of a reliance on both sides, to reach new audiences, strengthen regional footholds, increase retention and loyalty, all whilst operating a profitable service. As operator and OTT partnerships flourish across the continent four key trends rise to the surface:
The rise of the telco and OTT partnership
For OTTs and content players, partnerships with telcos have not only opened access to new subscriber bases, but also enabled regional and localised content to travel across borders and into new territories. The partnership between Telenor Myanmar and Malaysian OTT platform, Iflix is a prime example of how telcos are increasingly the chosen content distribution method in which OTTs bring their services to market.
Content - content platform partnerships
The announcement of South East Asian OTT HOOQ and India’s Hotstar partnership in late 2018, saw a nuanced trade of benefits between the two content providers. For Hotstar, the partnership means a significant addition of Hollywood content to its library, whilst for HOOQ, it marks a sizeable expansion into the Indian market. Peter Bithos, CEO, HOOQ remarked then, that ‘this collaboration with Hotstar combines their reach with our offering as the ‘Home for Hollywood’ in India”.
Global players accessing the Asian market through partnership with major regional telcos
Airtel and Netflix announced a partnership in late August last year which enabled subscribers to the telco to access unlimited Netflix content for the first three months as a gift after which they would pay for Netflix through the Airtel app and link payments to mobile phone. Similarly, Vodafone India and Amazon Prime announced a deal early last year whereby, Vodafone India offered free subscriptions to Prime. Whilst according to Ovum, Netflix held a 23% stake on all OTT provider partnerships globally and was the most active OTT partner at the end of, this was not the case in APAC. In a region of such diversity, localised content coupled with seamless distribution methods through mobile service providers are levelling the playing field even with the resource and scale of global giants.
The rise of out-door and alternative distribution channels through app-based services
In early 2019, the partnership announcement between taxi-hailing firm Grab and HOOQ meant that passengers would be able to stream movies and TV shows through the Grab app in addition to a three-month trial with the OTT platform. This signifies an innovative alliance that will allow HOOQ access to Grab’s user-base across South East Asia whilst strengthening Grab’s proposition in the consumer apps space. Through a promise of seamless integration between the two platforms, it will be interesting to see how strategic partnerships between content and consumer services providers will develop.
REVENUE GENERATING PARTNERSHIPS FOR LONG TERM SUCCESS
In a market open to collaboration, deeper partnerships between operators and OTT players will be essential to ensure that over time, these alliances can begin to actively generate revenue as well as customer growth for both sides. Relationships that involve smooth integration of services and benefits such as carrier billing capabilities will require both deep technical and commercial collaboration but ultimately ensure partnerships remain competitive in a rapidly converging landscape.
