Will Singapore’s pay TV market become obsolete?

Not if local telcos learn from UK peers, experts say.

Local telcos should learn from their counterparts in the United Kingdom in order to stay competitive in the evolving pay TV landscape, according to a report by DBS.

A report by DBS highlighted that UK pay-TV players have been more resilient than their US peers, as US companies like Time Warner have been steadily losing subscribers to over-the-top (OTT) players like Netflix.

In contrast, UK companies have been able to increase the number of their subscribers despite Netflix's presence, mainly because Netflix’s content in the UK is less diverse and comprehensive than in the US.

Apart from that, UK’s popular and numerous free-to-air channels make OTT players less attractive.

“Singapore is a much smaller market with robust free-to-air TV, and regulatory requirements may add further costs to Netflix. Netflix has adversely affected Pay-TV players in US, less so in UK. Singapore Pay-TV players are likely to be resilient in the medium term,” DBS said.

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