MUMBAI, April 21 (Reuters) - Pay television subscription revenue is seen growing at 12 percent in India to about $13 billion by 2018, according to a report by Media Partners Asia.
After "a significant softening" in 2009/10, pay-TV advertising will see double-digit growth from 2011, the report said.
But profitability will hurt in the near-term due to funding issues, it said.
Advertising growth fell to 14.3 percent in 2008 and is estimated to drop to 5.4 percent in 2009, compared with an over 20 percent growth in 2006 and 2007, due to a slowdown in the economy, it said.
Digital TV deployment and last-mile consolidation will slow in 2009/10 due to funding issues, but direct-to-home satellite growth will remain robust, led by the growth of Sun Direct, Dish TV , Tata Sky and Big TV, it said.
The report also said there were concerns about the near-term profitability in distribution due to rising costs, though a more rationalised content cost structure will help Dish TV reach breakeven earlier-than-expected.
Burgeoning cost, insufficient pricing power, over-regulation and funding issues will lead to more realistic business models as well as rational cost structures, the report said.
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