Video investments in top Asian nations to drop this year. India led in 2024.

Video content investments across seven key Asian markets is projected to decline this year after growing at 9% in 2024, led by India, according to a new report.

Total investment across India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam is likely to decline 2% to $15.8 billion this year due to weakness in advertising-dependent TV sectors, particularly free-to-air and pay-TV, according to Media Partners Asia’s Asia Video Content Dynamics 2025 report.

In 2024, India’s video content investments increased 19% to $6.2 billion. Total spending across the seven Asian countries was $16.1 billion, MPA said based on its analysis of consumption and content investment across TV, online video, and film.

Growth in video content investments is being tempered by streaming platforms pulling back on costly originals and a sector-wide focus on profitability, the report said.

It, however, added that streaming would emerge as the single-last segment for content investment this year, with total spending reaching $5 billion, overtaking pay TV, across the seven markets.

By 2029, content investment is forecast to inch up to $16.7 billion, with India nearly closing the gap with Korea, which currently stands at $7 billion, MPA said.

TV investments declining fast

However, investments into the TV segment will decline from 59% of the total spending in 2025 to 51% in 2029, while the streaming segment grows from 31% to 38% and the theatrical segment edges up from 10% to 11%, it added.

“Content investment across Asia Pacific remains resilient, even as platforms and broadcasters confront rising costs and softer advertising,” MPA vice president Stephen Laslocky said in a statement. “Sports rights in India and Korea are powering much of the near-term growth, while selective bets on premium drama and local storytelling continue to drive engagement in India, Korea, Indonesia and Thailand.”

India generated 21.5 billion hours of premium video-on-demand viewing in the April-June quarter, led by JioHotstar (56% share), with Amazon (Prime Video + MX Player) holding a combined 25% share, the report said.

Sports remains a critical growth driver in India, with cricket continuing to anchor engagement.

As far as the theatrical film business goes, India’s box office collections climbed to $1.4 billion in 2024, led by South Indian films, MPA said.