Streaming and local film are set to send spend on content in seven major Asian markets over the $15B mark this year, according to a study.
Media Partners Asia (MPA) reports that content investment will rise from $14.8B in 2025 to $15.1B this year and on to $15.4B in 2031.
While TV currently accounting for 60% of the spend, followed by online video at 30% and film at 10%, MPA’s ‘Asia Video Content Dynamics 2026’ report noted “virtually all incremental growth comes from streaming and film as television budgets decline.”
The report assessed spend in India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, with key findings being that while Asian video industries command large audiences and have valuable brands, this is not always “converting into attractive financial returns” and many “established media companies” are trading “well below equity book value.”
MPA is predicting those that spend wisely, rationalize costs and protect “genuine content advantages” will “increasingly separate” those that don’t.
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Within the $14.8B figure from 2025, Korea accounts for $6.9B, with India second at $5B, which is approximately 80% of the total.
MPA noted streaming has overtaken TV in India with online video accounting for 46% of content investment in 2025, compared to 42% in television. Indian audiences streamed 420 billion hours last year, with JioHotstar leading the way with a 58% of the premium VOD viewing. Sports is driving demand, with JioHotstar experiencing a boost in reach during the IPL cricket season.
In Korea, Netflix leads the way with domestic streamer TVING a clear second, while Indonesia’s Vidio, which has been profitable since the fourth quarter of last year, leading that market with six million paying subs. TVING’s extensive baseball rights helped expand its subs base from 5.3 million to 6.5 million, according to MPA.
Local film represents “the region’s clearest growth opportunity,” MPA added. This was evidenced by Vietnam’s box office rising 20% to $213M in 2025 with local titles accounting for 69%. There were similar figures in Indonesia, while India posted a record box office total of $1.41B, and local titles were attributed for a “substantial theatrical recovery” in Korea this year.
TV advertising, on the other hand, fell, with MPA suggesting “several television industries still carry more legacy capacity than their advertising economics can support.”
Stephen Laslocky, Vice President, MPA, said: “Asia’s video industries are not short of audiences or creative capability. They are short of structures that convert both into sustainable returns. As the margin for error narrows, management quality will become decisive.
Companies that rationalise legacy costs through restructuring and the adoption of new technologies such as AI, collaborate where independent investment no longer makes sense and protect the content that gives viewers a reason to stay will increasingly outperform, and the valuation gap between winners and losers will widen.”
Another MPA analyst Myat Pan Phyu (May), added: “The viewership data shows demand is intact. Premium VOD engagement continues to grow across India, Korea and Southeast Asia, streaming now leads content investment in India, and local stories are winning at the box office from Hanoi to Jakarta and Mumbai. This is a story of reallocation rather than retreat as capital moves toward streaming and local film, where both audiences and returns are growing.”