Research — Oct 27, 2025
APAC telcos, pay TV operators reposition as OTT super aggregators
By Fed Mendoza
As traditional pay TV subscriptions have declined in the Asia-Pacific region in recent years, the urgency for telcos and pay TV operators to innovate and adapt through over-the-top partnerships and homegrown streaming services has never been more amplified, a direct response to the changing media consumption habits in the region.
Key research highlights:
- The total number of OTT-operator partnerships across the 19 Asia-Pacific markets in our study has reached 504 as of October 2025, a 12.2% year-over-year increase, with "subscription promotion" as the most popular type of partnership.
- India remained the largest market for pay TV/telco-OTT partnerships, increasing from 117 agreements in 2024 to 139 agreements in 2025, with its abundant OTT services accessible via OTT aggregation platforms.
- Operators have softened partnerships with top online video providers and strengthened ties with local OTT players instead. Bundling OTT with services aids pay TV decline and increases fiber home penetration.
- Homegrown online video will remain a viable revenue-generating service, supporting telco and pay TV operators' media-related business.
As network advancements become evident in the Asia-Pacific region, telco and pay TV operators are increasingly leveraging partnerships with OTT providers to enhance their service offerings through bundling and maintain competitiveness by providing better content options. The total number of OTT-operator partnerships across the 19 studied markets in Asia-Pacific has reached 504 in 2025, a 12.2% year-over-year increase, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan. India remained the largest market for pay TV/telco-OTT partnerships, increasing from 117 agreements in 2024 to 139 agreements in 2025, with its abundant OTT services accessible via OTT aggregation platforms.
Partnerships take various forms, including data packages for unlimited streaming, subscription promotions, direct carrier billing, and set-top box/mobile/streaming stick integration. The most popular type of partnership is "subscription promotion," as of October 2025. "Direct carrier billing" is also a popular collaboration format for paying TV players and carriers, allowing subscribers to pay for OTT subscriptions in a combined bill with broadband or pay TV services.
Direct-to-home pay TV operator Tata Play topped the overall Asia-Pacific market with the greatest number of partnership deals as of October 2025. Offering both pay TV and OTT aggregation products is Tata Play's major strategy to attract customers. Tata Play integrated OTT apps into its DTH streaming sticks, smart TVs, and set-top boxes, while its OTT aggregation app, Tata Play Binge, meets the demand of customers who only want online video content.
In the pursuit to increase fiber homes passed, telcos bundle their fiber services with OTT services. The seamless entertainment experience bundled with mobile and fixed-line plans is an edge for carriers to compete for more customers. For example, Telekom Malaysia, under the Unifi Home brand, offers packages for fiber broadband and online video services, such as Netflix Inc. and Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.'s HBO Max, at discounted prices, aiming to entice more FTTH customer sign-ups. The strategy is deemed effective as Telekom Malaysia's fiber subscriptions increased in recent years, according to Kagan estimates.
Telcos and pay TV operators have softened partnerships with top online video providers and strengthened ties with local OTT players instead. The shift in strategy by some operators partly contributed to the slight declines in the total number of deals for regional OTT services such as Amazon.com Inc.'s Prime Video, HBO Max, and Walt Disney Co.'s Disney+. Among the eight OTT operators in our study, six reported fewer partnership deals with pay TV/telco operators as of October 2025. However, as content aggregation becomes more pronounced, global/regional OTT providers and pay TV/telco operators' agreements will be a recurring strategy for service bundling.
While most Asia-Pacific pay TV/telco operators aggregate OTT services, some operators have kept their own online streaming businesses afloat. As of October 2025, 36 out of 74 telcos and pay TV operators have maintained the operations of their own OTT or virtual multichannel (VMC) products. As traditional pay TV subscriptions weaken in most markets, Kagan forecasts that self-run online video will remain a viable revenue-generating service, supporting telco and pay TV operators' media-related business.
The impact of global and regional OTT providers on the telco and pay TV industries cannot be understated, as significant growth in subscriptions for major OTT platforms like Netflix has been seen, with its subscriber base in the Asia-Pacific region growing from 25.5 million in 2020 to 57.5 million in 2024. The drastic increase in online video consumption drives telcos and pay TV operators to enhance their partnerships with OTT providers, ensuring to offer a diverse range of content that meets the evolving preferences of consumers.
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Click here to access the full article, including the spreadsheet for details of partnerships between OTT providers and telco/pay TV operators in the Asia-Pacific region. The database also includes OTT and virtual multichannel services launched by telco and pay TV operators.
Global Broadband & Pay TV is a regular feature from S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan.