OTT on the rise in Australia and New Zealand

OTT subscriptions are set to overtake DTH in Australia and New Zealand by 2026.

While OTT pay TV offers have struggled to gain traction in the region, that is likely to change in the coming years, claims a new report from Dataxis. 

The report notes that Foxtel Now and Kayo Sports, respectively the SVOD and the sports OTT pay TV offers of Foxtel, the leading pay TV operator in Australia, only accounted for 10% each of Foxtel’s pay TV mix in 2019. This however has significantly shifted over the past 18 months, with Kayo Sports alone accounting for almost 30% of Foxtel’s subscribers.

During the same period DTH subscriptions, which accounted for two-thirds of the total in 2019, dipped to 43% of the total while more than 50% of Foxtel Group’s total subscribers are streaming customers. 

Meanwhile, OTT player Fetch TV, which has made little impact on the market since its launch, will significantly increase its prominence in the coming years. The service’s focus on aggregation will see it account for 20% of the Australian OTT market by 2026, Dataxis projects.

DTH markets are still expected to remain strong across the two countries however. They will account for more than 40% and 66% of the total pay TV subscriptions in Australia and New Zealand respectively.