According to a recent report from Kagan Research, telcos will continue to find opportunities to develop market share and capture a significant portion of Asia Pacific total pay-TV revenues -- which Kagan forecasts will grow from $13.1 bil. in 2004 to an estimated $38.0 bil. in 2015.

According to ASIA PACIFIC MULTICHANNEL MARKETS 2005, cable could lose its grip on the region in the next ten years, as DTH and IPTV services capture market share. IPTV platforms operated by telcos over DSL or fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) networks are forecast to develop in nine of the region's 13 tracked countries, increasing subscriber share from less than 0.3% in 2004 to 9.4% in 2015. The report also projects that IPTV revenue share will rise from 0.7% in 2004 to 12.9% in 2015.

Asia Pacific IPTV Households: Countries Ranked 2005 & 2015
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                     2005 IPTV                            2015 IPTV
Rank  Country         HH (000)     Rank  Country           HH (000)
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  1   Hong Kong         574          1   China              20,011
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  2   Japan             229          2   Japan               7,388
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  3   Taiwan             70          3   India               3,066
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  4   China              65          4   Hong Kong             968
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  5   Australia          30          5   Taiwan                865
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  6   India              15          6   South Korea           578
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  7   Singapore          10          7   Australia             350
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  8   Malaysia            8          8   Malaysia               39
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  9   Indonesia           -          9   Singapore              34
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 10   New Zealand         -         10   Indonesia               -
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 11   Philippines         -         11   New Zealand             -
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 12   South Korea         -         12   Philippines             -
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 13   Thailand            -         13   Thailand                -
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Copyright 2005 Kagan Research LLC

Among the 13 countries analyzed in ASIA PACIFIC MULTICHANNEL MARKETS 2005, Japan is viewed as the most lucrative market for multichannel development despite its relatively low multichannel penetration rate. Although more than 25 mil. HHs connect to cable and another 19 mil. receive satellite signals, multichannel penetration of the country's 47 mil. TVHHs is below 19% due to the fact that most cable and satellite connections are used to receive retransmissions of free terrestrial channels. With its high urban density, strong consumer culture and near total penetration of TVHHs, Japan presents an ideal opportunity for pay-TV market growth.

With 351 mil. TVHHs and 104 mil. multichannel subscribers, China hosts the largest multichannel population in the world. China also has the potential to substantially influence technical standards and change the economics of digital terrestrial TV (DTT) as it drives toward digitization.

Despite its massive subscriber base, however, China's multichannel revenues ($2.1 bil. in 2004) remain a distant second to Japan ($4.4 bil.), because China's $1.70/month cable ARPU is among the world's lowest.

"We expect China's pay-TV subscriber base to more than double to approximately 214 mil by 2015," says Ben Reneker, Kagan analyst and head of the company's international research team. "Despite concerns regarding poverty, piracy, technology standards and market regulation, the long-term opportunities for foreign investment in China's TV infrastructure are clear and compelling."

ASIA PACIFIC MULTICHANNEL MARKETS 2005 also addresses the challenge of pay-TV affordability in developing Asian economies. To compare affordability among countries, Kagan uses an exclusive Multichannel Affordability Metric. The analysis concludes that multichannel services are currently most affordable in China and South Korea -- leading to widespread adoption by the masses; while in Thailand and Indonesia affordability barriers reserve legal pay-TV services for wealthy citizens only.

ASIA PACIFIC MULTICHANNEL MARKETS 2005 assesses the state and future of 13 key Asia Pacific multichannel markets and provides investors with exclusive market forecasts (2005 - 2015) of subscribers, revenues and ARPU for DTH, Cable, Fixed-wireless, IPTV, FTA-DTT and pay DTT platforms -- the most comprehensive evaluation of the fastest-growing media markets in the world and the leading fronts for ambitious technological developments.

For Table of Contents and more information on ASIA PACIFIC MULTICHANNEL MARKETS 2005 go to www.kagan.com/APMM112205.