$2bn lost to pay TV piracy this year
October 26, 2010
According to an annual piracy survey by CASBAA and Standard Chartered Bank – is that over $2 billion will have been lost to piracy this year. CASBAA noted that this loss, while high, does not include revenues lost to Internet piracy.
Also research undertaken by PwC reveals that at least $262 million is lost annually from government coffers. This includes lost corporate profits tax in 2010 of $195 million and VAT/GST.
According to CASBAA, governments worst hit by piracy include Thailand, Pakistan and the Philippines, which in 2010 will have lost $87 million, $63 million, and $38 million respectively.
Despite these hurdles, the increasing digitisation of pay-TV in Asia combined with the ongoing commitment from governments, regulators, operators and content providers to eradicate piracy, continues to have a positive impact across the region as the industry continues on its upward course.
“In Hong Kong we have seen a dramatic fall in revenue leakage to $1.09 million in the past year. In India, while some regulatory weaknesses leave a huge hole in the industry revenue flow, the government is benefiting from a new will to collect entertainment and business taxes on more than 25 million digital pay-TV subscriptions. Improving digital roll-outs in the Philippines are helping our industry hold the line in terms of revenue losses to individuals stealing from the pay-TV operators. An increasing recognition that intellectual property rights enforcement can benefit the entire value chain is gradually taking hold in markets where domestic content has been damaged by theft,” said CASBAA.