Satellite and cable markets predicted to grow in Asia-Pacific
Satellite and cable industries in the Asia- Pacific region will continue growing despite Asian economic problems, according to a new market research report called Asia- Pacific Cable & Satellite Markets: 1997, issued by The Strategis Group of Washington, DC.
Included in the report are Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The report predicts that cable and satellite revenue will increase in these countries from less than $11 billion in 1997 to more than $78 billion in 2007. Subscribers will triple from 85 million in 1997 to 234 million in 2007, according to the report. The projections are based on 139 million addressable households in the countries reported on, which are those with enough disposable income to spend $25 per month or more for television programming.
The report divides the Asia-Pacific region into three groups. The first group includes highly developed countries--such as Japan and Australia--with high television, vcr, and telephone penetration rates, and addressable household penetration at 90% of total households. The second category includes underdeveloped countries--such as China and India--with low incomes, large rural subsistence populations, and less than 15% addressable household penetration. The third group includes countries with emerging to well-developed urban economies, such as Thailand, Malaysia, and Korea.
Highly developed Asia-Pacific countries will reach the same levels of cable and satellite penetration as North America, according to the report. In less developed countries, only the more affluent market segments will be able to subscribe to cable and satellite services, but in China, India, and Indonesia, the potential is immense.
According to the report, Taiwan has the most highly developed cable-TV industry in the region, while digital direct-to-home (dth) satellite TV is most advanced in Japan. Digital dth satellite systems with "vast" channel capacities are serving homes in Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Hybrid fiber cable systems are helping to expand the number of terrestrial and satellite channels in Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Korea, Singapore, and a few other countries, the report says.
Hybrid-fiber/coaxial-cable systems will dominate the multichannel television market in Taiwan, India, China, Singapore, and Korea, according to the report. In Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Thailand, the report predicts that digital dth satellite service and cable-TV systems will compete for market share. In Indonesia, the report finds that dth is emerging as a market leader, since the country`s terrain makes satellite a more practical option and because dth already has a head start on cable.
Stating that neither cable nor satellite industries have developed in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Pakistan, or Vietnam, the report finds that growth and market share projections are the least predictable in those countries.
For more information about the $1995 report, contact Eileen Krill at The Strategis Group, 1130 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 325, Washington, DC, 20036-39915: tel: (202) 530-7500; fax: (202) 530-7550; or e-mail: [email protected]