Asia Video Content Spend to Hit $15 Billion in 2026 as Streaming and Local Film Draw Capital, Media Partners Asia Report Finds — SkimNews
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- Media Partners Asia's "Asia Video Content Dynamics 2026" report projects spending across India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam will rise from $14.8 billion in 2025 to $15.1 billion in 2026 and $15.4 billion by 2031, with streaming and local film driving nearly all new investment.
- India crossed a structural threshold in 2025: online video claimed 46% of content investment against TV at 42% for the first time; JioHotstar holds 58% of premium VOD viewing with more than 180 million paying subscribers.
- Korea accounts for $6.9 billion of 2025 spending — nearly 40% of the seven-market total — with TVING ranking a clear second behind Netflix after exclusive KBO baseball coverage lifted its subscriber base from 5.3 million to 6.5 million.
- Sports rights are the key differentiator for streamers: JioHotstar's connected-TV reach jumped 26% during the 2026 Indian Premier League, Vietnam's FIFA World Cup coverage lifted premium VOD viewing 22%, and Indonesia's Vidio became EBITDA-positive in Q4 2025 with over 6 million paying subscribers.
- Local film emerged as the clearest growth opportunity, with Vietnam box office up 20% to $213 million (69% from homegrown titles), Indonesian box office up 10.5% to $325 million (60% local), and India setting a record $1.41 billion box office.
- Television is losing ground financially — Thai TV advertising dropped 18% to $422 million in 2025 — while Korean drama margins are compressed to between 5% and 10% and many regional media companies trade below equity book value.
- Consolidation is advancing fastest in India and Korea, following the 2024 Viacom18-Star India merger that created JioStar and the proposed TVING-Wavve combination; MPA sees room for further deals in the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia.
Why it matters: Indian online video just structurally overtook TV for the first time (46% vs. 42%), and MPA expects capital to flow toward streamers with sports rights and IP-owning studios — meaning broadcasters facing falling ad budgets (Thai TV ads down 18%) and production-fee-dependent houses in Korea (5-10% margins) are the structural losers in this regional reallocation.
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