According to the newly released Asian Video Content Dynamics 2025 report from Media Partner Asia, streaming platforms surpassed traditional PAY-TV as the largest source of content investment in the Asia-Pacific region in 2025, becoming the historic first source for the local video industry.
The survey tracks content investment, consumption and production across India, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, predicting that total content spending will slip 2% this year to $15.8 billion. TV spending weakens amid the softness of the ads, but streaming emerges as the largest vertical projected at $5 billion, overtaking pay television for the first time.
In 2024, video content investments in seven markets rose 9% to $16.1 billion, with sports rights and local programming. South Korea is the largest market at $7 billion (+7.1%), followed by India at $6.2 billion (+19%). Indonesia signed 7% to $855 million, while Malaysia and the Philippines fell 3-4%. Thailand and Vietnam also recorded a decline.
Going forward, MPA Project’s content investment will reach $16.7 billion by 2029, with India nearly filling the gap with South Korea. The share of TV spending will decline from 59% in 2025 to 51% in 2029, streaming will rise from 31% to 38%, and the edge of theatre will rise from 10% to 11%.
Key industry trends flagged in reports include a decline in structural ads for broadcasters, streaming platforms that scale expensive originals while pushing to ad-supported layers, and local producers who use their skills across television, film and streaming. Artificial intelligence has also emerged as a driver, streamlining production workflows, enabling data-driven commissioning, and supporting dynamic advertising monetization.
This report highlights a range of dynamics across the platform and market. While traditional television is resilient in Thailand and Vietnam, India continues to exercise mass market influence through programming in regional languages. South Korea and the Philippines face erosion of ratings as viewers move to streaming, but the Indonesian television sector is stable thanks to strong performances from RCTI and SCTV. However, TV ads have been declining sharply across all markets.
Streaming consumption skyrocketed in 2025. India recorded 21.5 billion hours of premium VOD viewing in the second quarter, with Jiohotstar holding a 56% share and Amazon (Prime Video + MX player) holding a 25%. South Korea and Indonesia each recorded 1.2 billion hours, followed by the Philippines (0.9 billion), Thailand (0.5 billion with 41 million Mauss) and Malaysia (0.4 billion). Netflix led viewers in Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, earning 50-80% stakes, TrueID competed in Thailand and Vidio was held strong in Indonesia. VIU maintained momentum across Southeast Asia with slates of Korean, Chinese and local content. Korean dramas and Hollywood titles accounted for more than half of Premium VOD viewing, but breed formats gained traction in Korea and India. The sport led by cricket continued to lock in involvement in India.
On the theatrical side, India’s box office revenue rose to $1.4 billion in 2024, carrying South Indian films. South Korea fell 17% to $888 million, while local films accounted for 61% of the market. Indonesia grew modestly to $294 million, but the Philippines and Vietnam performed strong rebounds, with local titles grossing nearly 41% and 50% respectively.
“We’re excited to announce that we’re a great place to go,” said Stephen Laslocky, VP of MPA. “While sports rights in India and Korea have driven much of their short-term growth, selective bets on premium drama and local storytelling continue to drive engagement in India, Korea, Indonesia and Thailand. At the same time, viewer dynamics are shifting. Resonate, adapt to an ad-supported future, embracing innovations like AI, making content creation and delivery more efficient.
Media Partner Asia is an independent research company focusing on entertainment, connectivity and technology across the region.
