iWorld
MPA report values Asia Pacific online video revenue opportunity at $12 billion by 2020
MUMBAI: A research report published by Media Partners Asia (MPA) indicates that the total market for online video services across 13 countries in Asia Pacific will grow from $3.5 billion in net revenues in 2014 to reach $12.4 billion by 2020, representing an average annual growth of 23.5 per cent. Advertising will contribute more than 80 per cent to the online video pie by 2020 with the subscription revenue opportunity, largely driven by subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) platforms, growing from less than $700 million in 2014 to more than $2.3 billion by 2020.
The report, entitled ‘Asia Pacific Online Video Distribution 2015’, evaluates the commercial distribution of legal over-the-top (OTT) video services in 13 markets with historical data and forecasts plus profiles of key OTT platforms.
Commenting on the report, MPA executive director Vivek Couto said, “The market for the legal consumption of OTT services in Asia Pacific is at an early stage with monetisation models nascent in most countries. As barriers to entry reduce and broadband penetration increases, more disruptors are emerging and host of new platforms are proliferating, though business models are not always scalable and issues such as piracy; content; and platform operation remain problematic. This is especially true in a number of Asian markets where piracy is significant and the limited scale of OTT video revenues are not commensurate with content costs.”
“Meanwhile, large scale global digital brands (from YouTube to Netflix) are expanding rapidly in a number of Asian markets or readying to launch in key territories over 2015 and 2016. Major local and regional television companies are also in the early stages of launching a number of large scale advertising and subscription based OTT platforms, anchored to local, Asian and Hollywood content while telecom operators are either moving upstream into content and OTT services or providing a crucial link for the ecosystem,” he added.
Key takeouts from the report include:
• Infrastructure. Fixed broadband subscribers reached 325.3 million in 2014 across Asia Pacific, equivalent to an average household penetration rate of 36 per cent. By 2020, MPA projections indicate that this penetration level will reach 40 per cent as fixed broadband subs grow to 403.5 million mobile broadband will grow rapidly, expanding at CAGR of 15 per cent over 2014 and 2020 to reach almost 2 billion subs by 2020 (58 per cent penetration of population) versus 866 million (26 per cent penetration) in 2014.
• OTT Video Consumption. Active Asia Pacific OTT video subscribers reached 594 million in 2014, according to MPA. China accounted for more 85 per cent of the market size in 2014 and will represent 80 per cent by 2020. Ex-China, the largest markets in 2014 were Korea; India; Japan; and Hong Kong. By 2020, MPA projections indicate that active OTT video customers will reach 977 million. By 2020, in Asia ex-China, India will emerge as the second largest market, followed by Korea, Japan and Hong Kong. In Southeast Asia, Malaysia will be joined by Indonesia and the Philippines as market leaders.
The market for subscription-based OTT video reached 75.3 million active subscribers in 2014 and is expected to reach 225 million by 2020. China will be the largest contributor, driven by internet-enabled TV and set-top box platforms and online video companies offering premium services. Japan, Korea, India and Australia will emerge as material opportunities, powered by SVOD but India will trend towards more a freemium-oriented model.
• Industry economics. MPA divides industry monetization models into distinct segments:
o SVOD. In terms of SVOD revenue across OTT platforms, the largest markets in Asia Pacific by 2020 will be Japan; China; Korea; and Australia. New Zealand and India will lead the next best placed group of geographies. MPA projections indicate that total SVOD-based OTT revenues in Asia Pacific will grow at a CAGR of 16 per cent between 2014 and 2020, growing from $953 million in 2014 to more than $2.3 billion by 2020.
o Online video and OTT advertising. Asia Pacific online video advertising exceeded US$3.7 billion in net terms in 2014, up 35 per cent year-on-year. The largest markets for online video advertising in 2014 were, by far, China and Japan, followed by Australia, India and Korea. By 2020, the total Asia Pacific online vide advertising pie is expected to grow to $10 billion, a CAGR of 18 per cent from 2014, with China dominant, followed by Japan and Australia. India will gain increasing scale and overtake Korea while Indonesia will be the clear leader in Southeast Asia.
OTT video advertising revenue, a subset of the online video advertising pie, reached $2.1 billion in 2014, up 43 per cent year-on-year from a low base, and almost entirely driven by China. This pie, is projected by MPA to expand to $5.5 billion by 2020 at a CAGR of ~18 per cent. China will be the largest contributor with India, Korea and Indonesia starting to become gradually significant over time.
iWorld
Talk to your telly: JioHotstar’s new AI voice feature reads your mood to suggest shows
The streaming giant ditches the scroll for a “conversational” AI that understands moods, cricket and Hinglish
MUMBAI: The era of the endless scroll may finally be over. JioHotstar has officially flicked the switch on its “Conversational Voice Discovery” (CVD) feature, a high-tech overhaul designed to turn the hunt for a Friday night film into a natural chat. Developed in a landmark partnership with OpenAI, the tool moves beyond clunky keyword searches, allowing users to find content by describing their mood, context or even the most bizarre viewing scenarios.
The feature is vision of Uday Shankar, vice chairman of JioStar, whose goal is to eliminate “content overload” by replacing the tedious, traditional scroll with natural dialogue. By leveraging ChatGPT’s ability to grasp context and cultural nuance, the new mobile interface allows users to bypass menus entirely, turning search into a seamless conversation.
The launch, which rolled out across India this month, sees a ChatGPT-powered interface integrated directly into the heart of the app. Instead of typing “action movie” into a sterile search bar, viewers can now speak to their devices as if they were asking a well-read friend for a tip. For now, the feature is exclusive to the mobile app, with a rollout for Connected TV (CTV) expected in later phases.
Beyond the keyword
The CVD feature is built on what JioStar calls “Multilingual Cognitive Search.” It is designed to interpret nuance rather than just matching text. If you tell the app, “I’ve had a long day, give me something mindless and funny,” it won’t just look for those words in a title; it will sift through 300,000 hours of library content to find a light-hearted sitcom or a stand-up special that fits the vibe.
The tech is natively multilingual, catering to India’s diverse linguistic landscape. Users can switch effortlessly between languages—asking for “Koi light-hearted comedy dikhao” (show me some light-hearted comedy) or requesting a “Thriller hai but zyada dark nahi chahiye” (a thriller that isn’t too dark).
Real-time curiosity and live sports
Perhaps the most ambitious aspect of the rollout is its integration with live sports. During a high-stakes cricket match, the AI acts as a digital companion. Fans can ask, “Who is the top scorer right now?” or “Show me that last wicket again,” and the system will pull the relevant data or clips instantly. It even attempts to explain the “why” behind the crowd’s energy, responding to prompts like, “Why is everyone reacting like that?” by contextualizing on-field events.
A shift in streaming strategy
The move is part of a broader reimagining of the entertainment experience following the massive merger between JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar. Uday Shankar noted that the goal is to make premium entertainment “truly accessible” by embedding AI at the core of the user journey. By anticipating culture and context, the platform hopes to kill off “decision fatigue.”
For OpenAI, the partnership represents a major play in the Indian market. Fidji Simo, the head of applications at OpenAI, said the goal was to turn a “one-way” passive consumption experience into a “deeply personal conversation.”
As the feature goes live for millions of subscribers, the message from Bombay House is clear: the remote control is becoming obsolete. Whether you’re looking for a show that “feels like a rainy Sunday afternoon” or a crime series with a “strong female lead but not too violent,” all you have to do is ask.
