ANALYSIS: SATELLITE

Satellite remains vital for distribution in Asia-Pacific region

Satellite will remain vital for video distribution in the Asia-Pacific region, and is geared for further growth, the recently concluded Satellite Industry Forum highlighted.

Hosted by the Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA), this year’s in-person edition returned after a two-year hiatus, and brought together over 120 delegates and stakeholders globally from the satellite industry.

Delivering the keynote speech was Steve Collar, CEO of SES, who spoke about growth opportunities in the satellite space and shared his views on the demand and supply in the market. He highlighted how SES, besides having both Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) and Geosynchronous Equatorial Orbit (GEO) satellites, is committed to building a multi-orbit fleet that provides a global network for customers to move from one to the other to maximise the benefits of both. Collar also forecasted a positive outlook on demand, and the new applications and services that could be run on satellite. Specifically, he identified high throughput and high connectivity services, which represents a “significant market” for SES.

With the pandemic bringing about the resurgence of linear broadcast as more people stayed at home, Collar also reiterated SES’ commitment to the long-term aspects of the video business, particularly in Asia.

Sharing the same sentiment was Terry Bleakley, Regional Vice-President, Asia-Pacific, Intelsat, who highlighted the importance of satellite to video and how long-term agreements are still being signed with satellite operators. For instance, broadcast and linear TV is forecast to generate US$43.5b of advertising in Asia-Pacific by 2024. In contrast, over-the-top (OTT) is expected to account for between $30b to $33b.

Patrick French, Executive Vice-President, Global Business Development and Strategy, ABS, added that video still had a “long lifetime” ahead, and will be driven by Asia in the longer term. Software-defined satellites are also going to be addressing all market segments and de-risk the business case going forward, he concluded.