Reshaped by streaming, COVID and evolving demographics, the Asian media landscape has evolved to become distinctly different from those in North America and Europe.
“Never before has Asia been more exciting. But, also, never before, has Asia been more diverged from the rest of the world, as billions of consumers go on their own journey,” said Vivek Couto, managing partner of consultancy firm Media Partners Asia and leading light behind the APOS media convention now underway in Indonesia.
Asia itself is very far from homogenous. Population trends, economic growth and per capita incomes are shaping the different monetization models and growth rates within the video industry across Asian markets. In traditionally high subscription markets, there’s a push to introduce ad-supported tiers for deeper penetration. Conversely, low per capita but rapidly growing economies, driven by young demographics, are expanding premium total addressable markets, increasingly monetizing through subscriptions and premium advertising on emerging mediums like CTV and retail media.
“Some U.S. executives are struggling to accept that the region is now distinct and different from anywhere else. India is a market with a population three times bigger than the U.S. and is fast evolving according to its own rules. China is huge, but at a different stage of growth and different again. And the days when Southeast Asian pay-TV followed similar rules to those in the west are long gone,” Couto told Variety.
”And, then, there’s the issue of U.S. content. Across the region Korean, Japanese and, increasingly, Chinese content is dominant. U.S. shows have prestige value, but local content, even local sports, is growing in importance across Asia.”
“Asia is its own market these days. We don’t program or commission for travelability,” Monika Shergill, Netflix’s head of content for India, told Variety on the sidelines of the conference. There is no need. India, with its streaming audience now more numerous than the entire U.S. population, is big enough.
Many of the international media conglomerates are significant players in the region and have achieved success, but in many cases they have had to adapt their business models to local conditions.
YouTube dominates UGC and social video and leads video monetization in the region, securing top and second spots in most key markets at a 12-19% share. Meta has strong presence in the region, with 8-12% share in Australia, India, and Indonesia, MPA says.
And Netflix is among the top players in Australia, Korea, and Indonesia. But achieving that requires significant investment in local content (notably in India, Japan and Korea). And, in emerging markets, notably those countries with low credit card penetration, local telcos enable flexible payment options and have access to even the lowest economic classes.
“Korea-originating dramas across genres, as well as some unscripted and variety shows, travels across Southeast Asia through platforms like Netflix and Viu, and command over 70% of engagement locally. In 2024, dramas like ‘Lovely Runner’ and ‘Queen of Tears’ were topped viewership across the region. ?Japanese content is another major Asian category with travelability led by anime,” said MPA.
And Asia is a test case for retail media — potentially capturing 30% to 70% of incremental digital advertising spending in key Asian markets – with the segment led by China’s e-commerce leaders Alibaba, JD, and Pinduoduo, Indonesia, where the movement is led by Shopee, Tokopedia, Bukalapak and Lazada, and Korea, spearheaded by local player Coupang. YouTube and Meta are expected to enter this category by 2025, Media Partners Asia adds.
Despite all these forms of development, Asia also remains one of the few continents where linear TV is forecast to remains a profit engine in key mass markets for several years to come.
Source Agencies
