APAC screen economy to hit $200 billion by 2031 amid shift to commerce

The regional pivot from reach-based advertising to commerce-integrated transactions marks a shift in where streaming value is captured. While total premium video revenue growth remains thin—estimated at just $2 billion over five years—content costs are rising by over $3 billion, creating a structural margin squeeze. For the ecosystem, this necessitates a move beyond traditional 'impressions' toward retail media and AI-driven production to sustain profitability. Success now depends on who can bridge the fragmented measurement gap as audiences migrate to CTV and super-app environments. Look for the adoption of standardized measurement layers across APAC markets as the key signal for unlocked ad spend.

Media Partners Asia has been tracking the Asia-Pacific screen economy since the early 2020s, and its latest projections position the region as the fastest-growing premium video market globally. The $200 billion figure announced in June 2026 extends that trajectory by incorporating commerce-linked revenue models that were not part of earlier forecasts, reflecting how platforms like Shopee, Grab, and TikTok Shop have blurred the line between content distribution and transactional commerce.

The monetization gap highlighted by Media Partners Asia aligns with broader industry concerns about measurement fragmentation across APAC markets. This fragmentation directly constrains the ability of advertisers to shift budgets from linear to digital and CTV environments, which is precisely the bottleneck Media Partners Asia identifies as limiting per-capita revenue growth. The report's emphasis on retail media as a workaround reflects how commerce platforms can bypass traditional measurement gaps by tying ad spend directly to purchase outcomes.

Microdrama, which Media Partners Asia flags as a growth category, has seen rapid expansion across APAC platforms. Short-form vertical drama apps like ReelShort and DramaBox collectively generated over $2 billion in global in-app purchase revenue during 2025, with the majority of downloads and revenue originating from Asian markets. This format's low production costs and high engagement rates make it a natural fit for the AI-driven content efficiency gains that Media Partners Asia projects will help offset rising premium content expenditures across the region.