Opinion | Unlike Asia, Pay TV’s decline to be much slower in India

A couple of recent reports by Hong Kong-based research and consulting firm Media Partners Asia (MPA) highlighted the state of Pay TV market in the Asia-Pacific and the strides that over-the-top (OTT) video streaming platforms have made in the region. In its latest edition of Pay TV Networks Channel Database, MPA talks of a decline in earnings and profits in 2018 of Pay TV Networks outside India. It says that the Pay TV market in Asia Pacific is entering a phase of “accelerated consolidation as subscriber growth and spend deteriorates across key territories”. The report shows that aggregate revenues across 13 major Pay TV networks in Asia Pacific grew by just 1% in 2018, while the combined Ebitda fell by 5% in the same year.