PH ranks 3rd highest in video-on-demand piracy in Asia – industry report

The Philippines ranked third among East and Southeast Asian countries in terms of subscription video on demand piracy, which restrains the growth of the creative industry and deprives the government of tax revenues, a trade association disclosed.

"While legal SVOD (subscription video on demand) monetization is growing, piracy remains pervasive in the Philippines," Neil Gane, General Manager of Asia Video Industry Association's Coalition Against Piracy, said in a virtual roundtable discussion organized by Stratbase Albert del Rosario Institute on Thursday.

AVIA is an industry association composed of multichannel TV broadcast, digital multichannel television, content, platforms, advertising and video delivery service providers across Asia.

Gane said that a report of Media Partners Asia showed that while SVOD is projected to become a $250-million industry in the Philippines this year, the industry would lose about $120 million to piracy.

"Piracy is depriving SVOD of $120 million in revenue per annum, more than 90 percent of the current legal opportunity," Gane said in his presentation titled Digital Risk in the New Normal.

He said legal SVOD has been growing in the country, led by current players such as Net ix, Viu, HBO Go and Prime Video. Disney+ Hotstar and homegrown Viva are set to launch their SVOD services in 2021, he added.