The Asia Pacific pay-TV industry, a US$35 billion franchise, has entered a vital third decade in which it needs to refocus on its constituents: 1.1 billion consumers spread across 16 markets in more than 360 million homes.

These are critical times. Pay-TV operators in established, revenue generative markets are retooling product and platform to meet shifting consumer demand and the challenges of intensifying competition, as well as potential opportunities and disruptions from broadband technology, new policy frameworks and content fragmentation. In Asia's largest geographies, the risks and rewards are immense as stakeholders grapple with content recalibration, consolidation, recapitalization, regulation and pricing power, as platforms digitize infrastructure. In smaller markets, operators are growing, localizing and innovating, yet still face an uphill battle to grow penetration amidst piracy, free-to-air dominance and FDI caps.

These challenges, solutions and future partnerships across pay-TV's future ecosystem inform the strategic agenda at the Asia Pacific Pay-TV Operators Summit 2011 (APOS 2011), held in Bali May 11 – 13, 2011. APOS brings together more than 50 pay-TV operators serving approximately 100 million homes, as platform heads strive to conquer the consumer and build closer connections with channel brands, content producers and technology enablers while forging tight links with investment communities.

Key Themes

• State of the nation - platforms, content, regulation and key markets. We focus on key global operators and content providers innovating to generate growth, profit and consumer value, discussing case studies and future paths with the men and women driving strategy. We showcase the major markets that could make and break Asia in the future, bringing together leaders across the value chain in Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand and more in invaluable country sessions, anchored to the latest insights from MPA research.
  

• Winners and losers in next-generation broadband. Internet delivered video, is here with cheaper broadband and proliferating devices. The impact of technology on consumer behavior and expectations is in the early stages of bringing new challenges to pay-TV, with platforms retooling networks, securing and expanding the content pipeline, and developing services and technologies to unlock value for the consumer.

• The high yield balance. There's subscriber growth and there's pricing power but maintaining the delicate balance is tricky. Key players highlight the new marketing strategies, developing applications and linear and value-added services that could help unlock both the customer base and ARPU.

• Content value versus commoditization. As telecom players develop next-generation broadband networks and slowly but surely advance IPTV, online video and mobile TV, at what price does content get absorbed? We bring together the gatekeepers and the creators to look for harmony.

• A new future for advertising and marketing. Pay-TV penetration has reached 50% in Asia Pacific and viewership is growing, creating new opportunities to expand advertising, especially in Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, digital pipes are flourishing and, together with two-way connectivity, could create gateways for advanced advertising. We isolate key issues and successful case studies with local operators, advanced digital networks and local media agencies.

• Paying the bill. The capital cost of developing next-generation infrastructure and content continues to grow. As strategic corporates in India and Greater China look to foot the bill and global majors and private equity jockey for pole position, what are the returns from the business, and how are policy and market forces helping unlock capital flow and national economic output?