Broadcasting expansion to the Asia-Pacific area
Posted on May 14, 2025 by FEED Staff
A hugely diverse and rapidly evolving region, the Asia-Pacific area is a multifaceted market for broadcasters. We unpack APAC’s opportunities and industry trends, including cloud-based workflows and localised content
Words Katie Kasperson
The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region is impossible to define; it’s an incredibly diverse area encompassing east Asia, south-east Asia, Oceania and the Pacific Islands. APAC-based companies serve billions of consumers on both sides of the equator, who speak dozens of languages, live by distinct cultural customs and experience varying degrees of global connection.
With a mixture of market maturity, the APAC region is a unique beast for the broadcast industry. It helps to first understand the bigger picture: what differentiates one country from the next, and why? Whether it be discrepancies in local infrastructure (think Beijing versus the Australian Outback), population (China or India versus New Zealand, for example), politics or regulation, it’s critical for businesses to consider APAC not as one cohesive market, but as a conglomerate of many – a jigsaw of countries all uniquely fitting together.
Setting the scene
When viewed as a single unit, APAC differs significantly from other regions around the world on just about every level. “Compared to Europe, where regulatory frameworks and legacy infrastructure still play a significant role, APAC broadcasters are more agile and open to cloud-native solutions,” suggests Lelde Ardava, COO at Veset. “In LatAm, connectivity and cost constraints often influence innovation, while APAC is a mix of highly advanced and emerging markets driving different technological adoption curves.”
Primarily resting along the Pacific Ocean, many APAC countries experience high levels of seismic activity, putting them at constant risk of earthquakes, tsunamis and other disasters. The World Meteorological Organization even named Asia the planet’s most disaster-prone region, so it’s no wonder “APAC customers place a significant emphasis on redundancy and backup solutions,” says Brian Chow, regional sales manager for north Asia at Clear-Com. “These are particularly valued in APAC, setting the region apart from areas such as Europe and Latin America,” which don’t see nearly as many extreme weather events.
Similarly, “one of the biggest challenges to the APAC region is infrastructure disparity,” argues Ardava. “While markets like Japan and Singapore have world-class connectivity, others still struggle with broadband limitations and cloud adoption barriers.”
These inequalities exist for a number of reasons, but they can often be traced back to colonisation and the effects of recent or ongoing political conflict.
APAC is also inconsistent in terms of regulation, with borders often marking the end of one legislation and the beginning of another. Unlike the European Union, which unites almost the entire continent, APAC experiences ‘regulatory challenges’, according to Ardava. “Certain markets require localised partnerships or compliance with unique broadcasting laws,” she says, mentioning ‘China’s restrictions on foreign cloud services’ as a key example. “Despite these regional challenges,” she continues, “there are still huge opportunities for cloud-based solutions that are able to support multiple formats and compliance standards.”
Lastly, Chow credits the ‘prevalence of high-context cultures, in which trust and relationships are crucial’ as an additional obstacle, particularly for businesses which are new or non-native to the area. “Understanding these cultural nuances is essential for long-term success,” he claims, suggesting that companies should “respect these traditions by prioritising ethical business practices, honouring verbal agreements and seeking to foster partnerships that are based on mutual benefit.”
What happens within
We’ve already alluded to some critical differences between individual APAC countries; and the closer you look, the more obvious these distinctions become. For starters, “APAC is an incredibly diverse region with unique cultures, business practices and infrastructure variations across countries,” remarks Chow.
“Many global companies establish their regional hubs in Singapore or Hong Kong due to their strong business environments, strategic locations and well-developed infrastructure,” he adds, though Clear-Com takes a ‘decentralised’ approach. “This structure allows us to provide rapid responses and localised support, ensuring our solutions align with specific customer needs across the region.”
Ardava agrees that Singapore and Hong Kong remain ‘key APAC hubs for media distribution’, but acknowledges that Australia and New Zealand are ‘emerging as leaders in cloud broadcasting adoption’.
China, on the other hand, has a ‘self-contained ecosystem and strict regulations’ but a ‘fast-moving innovation culture’, she explains, while more advanced markets like Japan and South Korea are focused on developing 4K or 8K video and artificial intelligence. Elsewhere, like in India, FAST, OTT and cloud-based broadcasting are replacing traditional distribution channels.
Throughout the APAC region, broadcast is undergoing rapid – and potentially disjointed – transformation. On the whole, “the biggest trends are focused on cloud-based playout, as well as FAST and hybrid delivery models,” according to Ardava. “There is also a strong preference for mobile-first consumption, which is driving more broadcasters to prioritise cloud-based, flexible workflows that can cater to both linear TV and OTT modes simultaneously.”
Bibhas Kumar Samanta, head of sales and presales (India and MENA) at Interra Systems, echoes this point, adding that “while video streaming continues to dominate the APAC market, we are also seeing linear television evolve, with local video service providers finding innovative ways to stay competitive – including investing even more in OTT and new-media businesses.”
Samanta believes this ‘dual approach’ – capitalising on the strengths of both linear and digital platforms – will allow broadcasters to ‘remain relevant in what is a rapidly changing landscape’. Samanta also stresses the impact of live sports on the adaptation of OTT, ‘particularly on mobile platforms’.
“The rollout of 5G networks across the region is enabling faster and more reliable data transmission, revolutionising live streaming and broadcasting. Local telecommunication companies and internet service providers are offering subscription packages that include access to multiple OTT platforms and live sports as value add-ons,” he describes – a trend that appears to be reaching the rest of the world. “This bundling strategy drives revenue and adoption for service providers, providing end users with an extensive entertainment package.”
Chow concludes that the shift from analogue to digital, especially in terms of signal flow, is one of the biggest trends across APAC. “With more customers transitioning to IP-based networks, this enhances system flexibility and usability,” he claims, “allowing for more efficient and scalable workflows.”
The global and the local
It’s all too easy to divide the world into east and west, but this often leads to overgeneralisation. While the global west might be known for innovation and industry, APAC is on equal footing in many ways. “APAC has traditionally looked to western markets for cloud playout, ad tech and workflow automation solutions, but today the innovation is more mutual,” argues Ardava.
“Western companies are increasingly adopting innovations from APAC, particularly in mobile-first streaming, AI-driven playout and super-aggregated OTT services. Next-generation codec development in Japan, South Korea and China is also influencing global encoding standards,” she continues, “and while western cloud providers such as AWS and Azure are expanding in APAC, local providers like Alibaba Cloud and Tencent Cloud are gaining traction.”
Chow also sees a ‘strong exchange’ between APAC and western businesses, with many international companies establishing headquarters in multiple, disparate regions. “Western companies contribute advanced technologies and systematic approaches to broadcast operations,” he describes, “while APAC businesses excel in efficiency and innovative problem-solving. Clear-Com acts as a bridge between these two worlds, bringing state-of-the-art western communication solutions to APAC while adapting them to local needs.”
Speaking of local needs, globalisation has led to cross-cultural consumption, which has in turn driven up the demand for localised content. British reality series Love Island now has an Australian version, while Korean dramas, Japanese anime cartoons and Bollywood films are attracting international fanbases. The APAC region plays host to many languages, requiring broadcasters to deliver content ‘that resonates with local audiences’, according to Chow. “Companies can achieve this by investing in region-specific programming,” he suggests.
“We’re seeing major OTT players like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Apple TV focus more on producing original content in countries like South Korea and India,” offers Samanta. “This localised approach resonates better with regional audiences, driving higher engagement and viewership,” he says. It also tends to preserve cultural quirks and other idioms, which often get lost in translation.
Still, “western content continues to be dubbed,” adds Samanta, “while subtitles are generated in local languages, ensuring accessibility for all audiences.” Many local companies – Interra Systems included – are turning to AI-based captioning, subtitling and dubbing “to meet the growing demand for localised content,” Samanta says, “with some even developing their own localisation engines to provide better accuracy. The integration of AI-based work and automated review platforms accelerates the content adaptation process by significantly reducing manual efforts.”
In short, thanks to the region’s size, “localisation is critical,” states Ardava, who also touts AI for its automation abilities. But localisation is about more than just the video content; it’s about region-specificity in all aspects of broadcast. “Regional ad insertion enables broadcasters to seamlessly monetise content across different countries,” Ardava details, and “cloud-based solutions offer customised output, which can easily scale without on-premises infrastructure.”
Eyes ahead
While the future can never be too clear, there’s plenty to expect from the APAC region in 2025 and beyond. Ardava believes “the future of APAC broadcasting is cloud-first, AI-enhanced and multi-platform.
“Broadcasters are moving away from hardware-intensive set-ups and embracing flexible, cloud-native solutions. Veset is actively working with state broadcasters and private media companies in the APAC region to deploy cloud playout solutions, support FAST and hybrid models and enhance disaster recovery strategies,” Ardava continues. “For example, in Malaysia, we’ve helped a state broadcaster transition from a traditional, hardware-based playout to a scalable, cloud-native model, significantly reducing operational costs while maintaining broadcast-grade reliability. In Japan, we’re working with one of the biggest broadcasters in the country on the integration of cloud playout next-gen codecs for content quality, low latency and multiview.”
Interra Systems, which specialises in content-aware quality control, captioning, monitoring and analysis, “continues to witness significant growth in the region’s media landscape,” summarises Samanta. “Many top-tier telcos, broadcasters, production houses and OTT operators in APAC countries are already utilising Interra’s products for automating their quality checking and live monitoring workflows.”
For instance, Interra’s AI-based captioning tool, Baton Captions, has enabled automated localisation, boosting operational efficiency. Meanwhile, its Orion product line “has been deployed by several of the largest live sports platforms in APAC to help monitor streaming quality, identify infrastructure bottlenecks and generate management reports at different distribution points,” Samanta enthuses.
“As APAC continues to evolve, Veset remains committed to providing broadcasters with the most innovative, cost-effective and cloud-based solutions to navigate the next era of broadcasting,” promises Ardava. “Our cloud playout solution, Veset Nimbus, is being used to manage linear TV and OTT distribution that is adaptable to APAC’s unique cloud ecosystem,” she explains, “from multi-language playout and cloud-based graphics insertion to region-specific scheduling and more.”
At Clear-Com, Chow chimes in, “we help our customers achieve greater efficiency and success in their operations by providing reliable, scalable and redundant intercom solutions.” Thanks to continued technological advancements and international cooperation, he believes that “the future of APAC’s broadcast industry is bright.”
This feature was first published in the Spring 2025 issue of FEED.
