Pay-TV innovation a priority for Asia Pacific
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Joseph O'Halloran
| 04 July 2017

Innovation and the development of new business models are needed by pay-TV providers in Asia Pacific to see out the perfect storm of content piracy and low-cost over-the-top (OTT) services according to research from NAGRA.

These latest findings of the 2017 Pay-TV Innovation Forum study revealed that operators see diversified offerings and a more collaborative, unified approach to piracy as key priorities to deliver growth as the Asia Pacific pay-TV industry enters a transitional period during which they will need to adapt their business models and technology platforms in order to thrive in the changing environment.

In addition, the study showed that operators will have to release new offerings that reflect changing consumer demand for cheaper and more personalised content packages, including OTT services, to effectively expand the range of services at different price points. NAGRA said that delivery infrastructure and technology platforms across APAC will also become much more IP-based, with content being increasingly delivered via both fixed-line and mobile broadband networks. The data showed that the need for change was being driven both by the persistent threat of content piracy and the increasing popularity of OTT services that are using aggressive pricing strategies to acquire customers.

“The pay-TV industry in Asia Pacific is going through a challenging, transitional period. Traditional pay-TV revenues in many advanced Asian markets are under pressure, while emerging markets are growing, but delivering low ARPUs. The industry is being increasingly disrupted by content piracy, especially around live sports, and impacted by low-cost OTT offerings, making it harder for pay-TV companies to invest with confidence,” said Jon Watts, managing partner, MTM. “Pay-TV service providers in Asia Pacific need to take stronger action against piracy to secure their future, while maintaining investment in new services and innovation.”

“There is a strong call to action across the pay-TV industry in Asia Pacific to respond to these growing challenges. Operators and content owners need to be innovative in how they transform their technology and business models to respond to these pressures,” added Simon Trudelle, senior director, product marketing, NAGRA. dtv.nagra.com “The Forum’s research highlights that service providers not only recognise the problems they face from content pirates, but want to see actions taken limiting illegal access to premium content to maintain revenue and ensure quality content continues to be created. By working in partnership with vendors, operators can be more agile and better adapt to the fast-changing landscape.”