With only 2.5 million pay TV subscribers out of 86 million people, Vietnam is a fledging market for the service, experts said.
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| Burgeoning cable market in Vietnam |
Manuel Rougeron, Managing Director of VSTV (K+), said, “The Vietnamese market has a much lower proportion of people paying for cable television than other countries markets around the world. This leaves a lot of room for growth.”
Among 50 cable providers in Vietnam, Canal+ has been the first foreign investor in the market. The French company hasteamed up with VTV to create K+ that has to date recorded 200,000 subcribers, holding 10% of the Vietnamese market.
“The cable television industry has seen considerable growth in the country. They provide hundreds of domestic and foreign channels,” said Deputy Minister of Information and Communication Do Quy Doan.
“Currently 43% of households in urban areas use digital cable, and 18% have satellite connections,” he said.
Fierce competition
Both local and foreign providers have been competing to gain a foothold in the Vietnamese market.
FPT is a fairly recent arrival to the scene, competing with other established companies, such as VTC, HTVC, VSTV, and SCTV.
The competition between these providers has brought about mixed results. One is low prices. Many offer free installation and subscription fees as low as VND35,000 (USD1.69) per month.
Some of the larger firms even waive monthly fees after the initial purchase of equipment.
However, there have also been negative effects. These include copyright violations, and monopolies on sports broadcasting.
Doan said, “A new law to regulate the cable television market was put into place on May 15, which will more strictly regulate cable TV providers.”
