Japan: Pay-TV growing despite Covid
July 24, 2020
Japan’s total pay-TV services revenue is set to register a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.9 per cent during 2019-2024, increasing from $8.9 billion (€7.6bn) in 2019 to $9.8 billion in 2024, according to revised pay-TV forecasts from data and analytics company GlobalData.
GlobalData’s Japan Telecom Operators Country Intelligence Report indicates that the overall growth in the pay-TV services revenues will be primarily supported by improving the aggregate average revenue per user (ARPU) from pay-TV services over the forecast period 2019-2024, despite the ongoing cord-cutting trends triggered by growing demand for OTT-based video services in Japan.
Overall pay-TV ARPUs will grow from $36.01 in 2019 to $40.37 in 2024 with growing ARPUs from cable, DTH and IPTV services.
Deepa Dhingra, Telecom Analyst at GlobalData, said: “Cable will be the leading technology to deliver pay-TV services in Japan over 2019-2024; however its share of the total pay-TV service subscriptions will continue to decline with the growing adoption of IPTV services. Improving coverage of high-speed fibre broadband networks will support the delivery of IPTV services in Japan.
“KDDI will lead the pay-TV service segment over 2019-2024, supported by its strong foothold in the cable segment and focus on providing cost-effective multi-play packages to compete in the market. For instance, it is offering a cable-plus phone bundled plan at a price of ¥1,330 (US$12.2) along with additional benefits such as lower call rates and an additional discount of ¥100/month for ‘au mobile phone’ subscribers.”