Asia Video Content Spend to Hit $15.1 Billion in 2026

Video content spending across seven major Asian markets will reach $15.1 billion in 2026, according to Media Partners Asia's "Asia Video Content Dynamics 2026" report. Streaming and local film account for nearly all the new money. Television budgets are shrinking.

The study covers India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. MPA puts 2025 spending across the seven markets at $14.8 billion and projects $15.4 billion by 2031. Korea, at $6.9 billion, and India, at $5 billion, together made up roughly 80% of 2025 investment.

Television still claims about 60% of total spend, against 30% for online video and 10% for film. But the balance is shifting fast, and India marks the turning point. Online video took 46% of Indian content investment in 2025, edging past TV at 42% — the first time streaming has led the market. Indian viewers logged 420 billion hours of online video over the year. JioHotstar holds a 58% share of premium VOD viewing in the country and counts more than 180 million paying subscribers.

"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," said Myat Pan Phyu, an analyst at MPA.

Sports rights separate the winners

Sports rights are what set streamers apart, according to MPA. Cricket pushed JioHotstar's connected-TV reach up 26% during the 2026 Indian Premier League tournament. Exclusive KBO baseball coverage took TVING in Korea from 5.3 million to 6.5 million subscribers; the platform ranks a clear second in its market behind Netflix. Coupang Play has built the widest premium sports offering in Korea. Indonesia's Vidio, which leads its home market with more than 6 million paying subscribers, has been EBITDA-positive since the fourth quarter of 2025. In Vietnam, the FIFA World Cup lifted premium VOD viewing by 22% this year.

Local film leads the box office

The report identifies local film as the clearest growth opportunity in the region. Vietnam's box office grew 20% to $213 million in 2025, with homegrown titles taking 69% of receipts. Indonesia rose 10.5% to $325 million, 60% of it from local films. India set a box office record of $1.41 billion. In Korea, a stronger domestic lineup is fueling a sizable theatrical rebound in 2026.

Television looks weaker. Thai TV advertising dropped 18% to $422 million in 2025, and MPA says several markets are carrying more broadcast capacity than their ad income can support.

Producers feel the squeeze too. Broadcasters and streamers have grown choosier about commissions, which hurts companies that live on production fees. Value is migrating toward integrated studios and producers that own IP, have repeat buyers or earn from several sources. Korea is the most expensive production market in Asia, with drama margins compressed to between 5% and 10%. Southeast Asia is cheaper, but tighter commissioning is hitting it as well.

Profit, not reach, is the problem

The money picture is less rosy than the audience numbers suggest. The region's media businesses command big audiences and deep creative talent, yet the report finds that reach is not reliably converting into healthy profits. Many long-established companies trade well below their equity book value.

"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 rationalize 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," said Stephen Laslocky, vice president at MPA.

Of the seven markets, MPA sees India and Korea as furthest along the road to consolidation. India set the pace with the 2024 merger of Reliance's Viacom18 and Disney's Star India, which created JioStar; more M&A could follow. Korea is looking to the proposed TVING-Wavve combination to unlock value. Southeast Asia has lagged, though MPA sees clear scope for consolidation in the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia.

Separately, MPA estimates that reorganizing CJ ENM into four clearly defined businesses could support an equity valuation far above the company's current market value — a signal that restructuring, not audience growth alone, will decide which Asian media companies the market rewards next.