In the wider Asia-Pacific region, we’ve seen a massive growth spike for online video and streaming, topping out at $145B in revenue. Yet this interest doesn’t extend to old-school TV itself, especially in monetization and engagement. Today, our industry expert entertainment attorney, Brandon Blake, of Blake & Wang P.A. dives deeper into this massive shift in consumption patterns.
Changing Entertainment Interests
According to data from research and analysis company MPA, or Media Partners Asia Research Services, that 5.5% industry growth was riding the wave of a massive 13% growth in the ‘online video’ sector. Meanwhile, traditional TV saw less than 1% growth, although it still retains the lion's share by sheer numbers ($98B vs $57B).
Within the market, we see China remain a massive driving factor, generating $64B of that revenue in 2023 alone. Japan followed, at $32B, with India ($13B), Korea ($12B), and Australia ($9.5B) rounding out the top 5. Even if we remove China from the equation, we’re left with a consistent 13% gain for the ‘online video’ sector (including streaming) and an even larger drop in TV revenue of 2%. Social media video does play a role in this, but premium AVOD, at 20% market share, was a stalwart too.
Looking For Reasons
Several key factors have powered this switch in interest. In particular, the penetration of internet-connected ‘Smart’ TVs and vast improvements in local connectivity. However, the boost to local creator economies plays a massive role too. With investment in premium local content, the spread of that content over international borders, and growing interest in online sports streaming, the reasons for this growth become considerably clearer.
In addition to a growing focus on the market from US-based studios like Amazon and Netflix, which did fantastically from its release of Squid Game for international audiences, we have also seen plenty of local successes with solid scalability. Private equity firms and other strategic players also have a massive interest in online video in the area, allowing regional and even local companies to become more competitive.
The Asian sector of the entertainment market is reaching a stage of maturity that provides a wealth of opportunities for streaming entertainment. Now it is time to see how that develops further as local market consolidation comes into play.
