From Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) to Tencent (HKEX: 00700), major streaming platforms now shoulder half of all sports broadcasting rights fees across Asia, underscoring how digital streaming is upending the traditional global media order.
Consultancy Media Partners Asia (MPA) forecasts that online platforms, including India's JioHotStar, will cover 50% of the region's sports rights spending this year, totaling an estimated US$5.7 billion. That share is up from roughly 36% in 2021, the firm wrote in its latest report.
Global streaming apps are racing to sign deals with top professional leagues, competing for sports viewers' screens. This means audiences 鈥?particularly those watching outside their home markets 鈥?must subscribe to an ever-growing number of paid platforms, rather than relying on just a handful of cable TV channels as in the past.
According to MPA data, in Asia this trend may slow the growth of the sports commercial market. By 2030, rights fees could grow by only 1% to 2% annually, compared with a cumulative 58% increase over the past five years.
The consultancy wrote that Asia's US$16.2 billion sports economy 鈥?including merchandise sales and sponsorship deals 鈥?should expand at roughly 5% per year over the same period, reaching about US$19.5 billion. Sports commercial revenue per viewer in Asia is only about US$4, far below North America's per-capita US$200.
Since 2021, India has contributed more than half of the incremental growth in Asia's sports market. The Indian Premier League (IPL) holds the highest rights value among professional leagues in Asia, generating about US$12.4 million in rights revenue per match, putting it on par with the English Premier League.
Meanwhile, Asia's streaming giants have carved up the market. JioHotstar, India's largest streaming platform operated by Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) and Reliance Industries, has secured cricket events. Tencent (HKEX: 00700) provides viewers in China with access to NBA and NFL games, while Indonesia's MNC Digital Entertainment Tbk holds broadcasting rights for AFC competitions and the European Championship.