Pay-TV services revenue in Japan to grow at 1.9% CAGR over the next five years

Japan’s total pay-TV services revenue is set to register a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.9 percent during 2019-2024, increasing from US$8.9bn in 2019 to US$9.8bn in 2024, according to revised pay- TV forecasts from GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

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 US$36.01 in 2019 to US$40.37 in 2024 with growing ARPUs from cable, direct-to-home (DTH), and Internet Protocol television (IPTV) services.

Deepa Dhingra, a 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 fiber 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 cableplus 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.”