The young and tech-savvy of the Asia-Pacific region spend vast amounts of time online in their pursuit of digital media entertainment. A new ABI Research study focused on online content usage in APAC forecasts that online media activities in the region will deliver at least $6.5 billion in annual revenues by the end of 2013.
"Telcos now regard digital media and entertainment as an effective means of replacing their declining voice revenues in a market where VoIP, IPTV, and fixed-mobile substitution are rapidly growing in popularity," says ABI Research analyst Serene Fong.
Telecom service providers in Asia are bracing themselves for the era of triple and quadruple-play, allowing their customers greater connectivity on their mobile devices, both at home and on the go. Improvements in wireless technologies and advancements in mobile devices have buttressed this concept.
According to Fong, "The availability of 2.5G, 3G, iMode, and HSPA handsets has equipped consumers with Web capabilities at reasonably high connection speeds even while they are on the move. In developed nations such as Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong, many people are watching short clips, television, listening to music, or playing games on their mobile devices to kill time while commuting."
Japan is currently leading the legal digital content revenue market in APAC and is expected to continue doing so, growing at a 6 percent six-year compound annual growth rate.
But ABI Research also notes that while the prospects for the legal online content market are very good, the birth of high-speed connectivity has also inadvertently given rise to P2P file-sharing sites that have perpetrated widespread content piracy.
The ABI Research study analyzes online media activities in six key markets: Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China and India. The report addresses the current growth stages of these markets, details business potentials, and examines the strategies of different stakeholders and how they are shaping the industry.