22 August 2025
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Video content investment across Asia Pacific is entering a new phase of recalibration. After strong growth in 2024, investment is projected to soften in 2025 as broadcasters grapple with structural advertising weakness and streamers scale back high-cost originals. Yet the fundamentals remain resilient: local storytelling, premium sports, and rising digital engagement continue to underpin the market.
Shifts in Investment. Sports and local content remain the twin engines of spend, with India and Korea driving the bulk of growth. But 2025 will mark a turning point: streaming becomes the single largest vertical for investment, overtaking pay-TV. Longer-term, streaming’s share of spend is expected to climb steadily toward 40% of the regional total by the end of the decade, while linear TV declines.
Evolving Consumption. Television continues to anchor mass audiences in markets such as Thailand, Vietnam, and regional India, but ratings erosion is evident elsewhere as younger viewers shift decisively to streaming. In Indonesia, TV ratings remain stable even as Netflix and Vidio grow rapidly in streaming. In Thailand, TrueID has emerged as a strong local challenger. Netflix holds dominant share across most Southeast Asian markets, while Amazon and JioHotstar deepen their presence in India. Korean dramas, local films, and live sports remain the most durable drivers of engagement.
Theatrical Recovery. Cinemas are regaining relevance, particularly in India, Vietnam, and the Philippines, where local content now commands a significant share of box office revenues. Korea remains highly local but volatile, while Indonesia shows steady, modest growth.
The Strategic Challenge. The ecosystem is being reshaped by two imperatives: profitability and innovation. Platforms are building ad-supported tiers and pursuing aggregation strategies, while local producers are extending capabilities across film, TV, and streaming. Artificial intelligence is beginning to transform production workflows, commissioning, and monetization, with the potential to lower costs and sharpen audience targeting.
“Content investment across Asia Pacific remains resilient, but the industry is recalibrating,” according to Stephen Laslocky, Vice President at MPA. “The winners will be those who invest selectively, adapt to the ad-supported future, and leverage AI to make creation and distribution more efficient.”
For deeper analysis, see MPA’s Asia Video Content Dynamics 2025 report.