OTT in Asia is so lovely and shiny, sexy and full of promise. Yes, consolidation could come in a few years. And, sure, some of the stories may end in tears. But right now, the energy and passion around young and blossoming initiatives is electric and very very compelling.

Where does this leave Asia’s satellite industry? Are the region’s operators concerned that the rise of streaming services and the growth of fibre infrastructure will make them irrelevant to the video distribution ecosystem?

Maybe, but mostly no for the moment. Peter Ostapiuk, Intelsat’s head of media product services, points out that “a little perspective is useful”. In June last year, there were 171,000 OTT TV/video homes in Asia Pacific. That is expected to increase by about 26,000 in 2016, according to Digital TV Research. In stark comparison, 825 million households in Asia Pacific receive content via traditional linear programming. “Linear TV is still the number one way viewers are consuming content – today and for a very long time to come,” Ostapiuk says.

Many point out that successful OTT services are built on the kind of broadband quality still missing across much of Asia for various reasons, including cost, affordability and geography. In addition, tech/design developments – primarily new generation high-throughput satellites (HTS) – put satellite operators in OTT play.

“Although HTS is at an infancy in Asia, it has presented an opportunity for satellite operators to consider launching their own OTT services, providing another platform to deliver content to consumers,” says Tan Tian Seng, Singtel’s director of capacity management and business development, satellite, business group.

Like radio, cinema and TV, different video distribution platforms are likely to co-exist in the connected future. As AsiaSat president/CEO, William Wade, says: “DTH, IPTV, cable, OTT and mobile platforms are all available forms of video distribution in Asia, which can be complementary with each other in offering convenient access to quality content at affordable prices”.

Long live happy co-existence!

Published on 27 May 2016