Unlocking Value: The Asia-Pacific Screen Market's Decade of Transformation
The Rapid Expansion of the Asia-Pacific Screen Market
The screen industry across the Asia-Pacific region is on an impressive trajectory, anticipated to reach a valuation of $179 billion by 2026 and further climb to $200 billion by 2031. This forecast, delivered by Vivek Couto of Media Partners Asia at the APOS 2026 conference, emphasizes that this expansion is more about a fundamental restructuring of value than simple organic growth. The underlying narrative points to a dynamic reallocation of resources and opportunities within the sector.
Defining Forces Reshaping the Entertainment Landscape
Couto's analysis highlights four primary factors driving this industry reset. Firstly, the sheer scale of the region's screen presence is monumental, with projections indicating 5.2 billion screens in operation by 2031. Secondly, there's a pronounced shift in how content is monetized, moving increasingly towards retail media and integrated commerce. Thirdly, the ongoing convergence of video content, social interactions, and commercial transactions onto unified digital platforms is fundamentally altering consumption patterns. Lastly, artificial intelligence is emerging as a critical disruptive force, revolutionizing content production by reducing costs, accelerating workflows, and diversifying format possibilities.
Bridging the Monetization Divide
A central theme in the presentation was the stark monetization gap within the Asia-Pacific market. Annually, the region generates approximately $46 per capita, a stark contrast to the U.S.'s $890. Couto identified this difference as the most significant reservoir of untapped value in the global media landscape. He stressed that the challenge for the next five years lies not in expanding reach, but in effectively converting that reach into revenue, underscoring the shift from audience aggregation to profitable engagement.
The Dominance of Streaming and Strategic Bundling
Regarding content subscriptions, the debate between streaming video on demand (SVOD) and traditional pay-TV has definitively concluded. SVOD surpassed pay-TV subscriptions as early as 2022 and is expected to outnumber them by more than five-to-one by 2031. India is a major driver of this growth, poised to add 366 million SVOD subscriptions over the decade, surpassing the combined growth of the rest of Asia-Pacific (excluding China). The success of bundles like JioHotstar, which exceeded $1 billion in revenue last year, illustrates how bundling has evolved from a promotional tactic into a foundational strategy for expanding streaming services in key markets and protecting established subscriber bases in mature markets.
Challenges and Opportunities in Advertising
The advertising sector presents a more intricate picture. Asia-Pacific ad spend is projected to grow modestly by 5.2% year-on-year in 2026, marking the slowest rate since the pandemic. Traditional TV advertising continues its decline, now in its eighth consecutive year. While digital advertising accounts for three-quarters of all ad spend and is growing at 7.8%, its benefits are largely concentrated among a few platforms that command strong targeting and pricing capabilities. Couto noted that broad reach alone no longer guarantees advertising budgets; effective addressability is now paramount.
The Untapped Potential of Connected TV
Connected TV (CTV) stands out as a promising area for a shift in advertising dynamics. The number of CTV-enabled homes outside China is expected to triple over the decade, growing from under 80 million to 255 million, driven by decreasing smart-TV costs and increasing home broadband penetration. Despite this audience shift, advertising dollars have yet to fully follow. Couto attributed this lag to fragmented measurement standards across streaming platforms, device manufacturers, and ad-supported channels. He emphasized that the significant revenue potential within CTV will be captured by whichever entity first establishes a comprehensive measurement framework.
Retail Media's Ascendance and AI's Dual Impact
Retail media, which directly links advertising to purchase transactions, is the fastest-growing advertising segment. This sector now leads digital ad increments in major markets from China to Australia. The substantial scale of commerce integrated with creator content further highlights this trend: in Southeast Asia, influencer advertising is approximately $2 billion, while creator-driven commerce totals around $50 billion—more than 20 times the advertising revenue. Couto concluded that the focus of advertising is shifting from impressions to transactions, meaning that screen businesses thriving will be those positioned closest to the point of purchase. He also touched upon microdramas, an emerging format valued at $3 billion outside China and poised to triple by 2031, with China's market already reaching $11.5 billion to $16.8 billion. Marketing costs dominate this segment, and AI-generated content now constitutes almost 40% of the top 100 microdramas on Chinese platforms, with tens of thousands of AI-native titles produced monthly on Douyin.
Navigating the Economic Landscape: Profits and Trust
Couto outlined a five-year projection for premium video in Asia-Pacific (excluding China), presenting a clear financial outlook. The advertising sector will see traditional television lose approximately $3.6 billion, while streaming gains about $3.3 billion, resulting in a nearly flat net premium video advertising market. In terms of consumer spending, pay-TV will lose nearly $3 billion, but streaming will gain over $5 billion, leading to a net gain of about $2.4 billion. Combined, premium video is expected to grow by roughly $2 billion over five years. However, content costs are projected to increase by more than $3 billion within the same period, indicating that top-line growth alone will not secure profit margins. Instead, margins must be strategically engineered, with intelligence acting as the primary driver.
The Transformative Power of AI
Media Partners Asia (MPA) estimates that AI could generate an annual profit-and-loss improvement of $9 billion to $15 billion across Asia-Pacific (excluding China) by 2031. Production efficiency enhancements, valued at $4.6 billion to $7.7 billion, represent the largest component of these gains. Couto emphasized that AI is not just about cost reduction but rather a technology that simultaneously impacts both sides of the income statement, lowering expenses while boosting revenue. He concluded with a crucial caveat: this financial dividend from AI will only be realized by those who industrialize AI without eroding audience trust. The cost savings are tangible and reliable, but maintaining user trust remains the essential constraint.
